Health Director Ruth Clay Retiring

MELROSE, MA — Health Director Ruth Clay, a longtime public health leader who has spearheaded the pandemic response for Melrose and Wakefield, will retire at the end of May, she said in a Tuesday email to City of Melrose employees.

Clay has led two communities' responses to the coronavirus for more than a year. While the pandemic has been a 24/7 job since last March and thrust local health leaders into the spotlight, she's worked in public health for decades, including the last 24 years in Melrose.

Clay attended the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, according to her LinkdIn.

Clay has recently been urging residents to not let their guard down when it comes to COVID-19.

"People are tired of the pandemic and they're tired of the restrictions and we're seeing that loud and clear," she said this week on Mayor Paul Brodeur's podcast The Brodeur Bulletin.

Clay pointed to the rising COVID-19 numbers in both Melrose and Wakefield.

"We do need to take a step back and remind ourselves that as much as we'd like to think that we're out of the woods, there are still people in the hospital on ventilators, there are still people dying every day from COVID," she said.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch and Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts.