Massachusetts towns respond to coronavirus
Municipal and school officials in the Blackstone Valley's Massachusetts towns are stepping up efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus, including daily deep cleaning and sanitizing of all surfaces in town halls and school buildings, and keeping residents up to date with information shared on town websites.
he Blackstone-Millville School istrict has done a fantastic job working with the Board of ealth and sending updates and letters home to parents, said Blackstone Board of ealth Secretary Colleen Strapponi. he schools as well as the administration at the Municipal Center have also increased their cleaning sterilization procedures.
Strapponi says the Board of ealth is in the process of ordering urell hand sanitizer dispensers to be hung on the walls in the main hallway of the Municipal Center on St. aul Street.
6trapponi also reported that Dunkin’ Donuts, including its store on Main 6treet, has temporarily suspended refilling customers reusable cups or travel mugs in an effort to reduce the odds of spreading the virus.
The lackstone 6enior &enter is also taking a pro-active approach. &urrently, all transportation vehicles are being disinfected after each ride and the center has suspended meals until further notice. As far as group activities are concerned, the center is reviewing them on a case by case basis, but have not canceled classes or any group activities outside of the center as of yet.
,n 8xbridge, a coronavirus-specific web page has been created on the town’s website with links to information on the virus, how it is spreads, prevention, treatment, and printable fact sheets.
“The website is updated daily, providing the latest information from the state and &D&, so we’re really making an effort to push people to those resources,” said 8xbridge ealth Director .ristin lack.
lack said the town is also urging all households and businesses to register for &ode 5ed and -Alert, which will allow the town to communicate time-sensitive, personalized messages to residents via voice, email and text.
8xbridge igh 6chool 3rincipal Michael 5ubin addressed the public health threat this week in his March newsletter to students and parents.
“:e would be lying if we did not indicate that the coronavuris &O9,D-1 has not been looming on our minds,” 5ubin said. “:e are fortunate that we do not have any international travel planned this year, and domestic travel has not been compromised yet.”
“Many of our colleagues around the &ommonwealth are canceling trips, including those that are in the continental 8nited 6tates,” he added. “:e will continue to take guidance from the &D&, the :orld ealth Organization and our local oard of ealth as we consider any changes that need to be made.”
Massachusetts health officials announced on Tuesday there are 51 new cases, bringing the state’s total of positive tests to . Of those cases, were connected to a iogen employee conference at the Marriott Long :harf in oston at the end of February.
On Monday, there were 1 cases in the state.
6tate 6en. 5yan Fattman, whose :orcester Norfolk district includes ellingham, lackstone, Millville and 8xbridge, said state lawmakers plan to take up a spending bill next week creating a $15 million fund to address the rapid rise in Massachusetts of &O9,D 1 cases.
Fattman met with the lackstone selectmen Tuesday night, hours after Massachusetts ov. &harlie aker declared a 6tate of mergency due to the ongoing concerns about coronavirus.
“:hat changed between the weekend and Tuesday to warrant a state of emergency ” Fattman said. “One thing that changed was the localization aspect and the fact we are now seeing community spread, which means spread of the virus from sources of infection that are unknown.”
“,’m optimistic, though, that this hopefully won’t be as bad as what we’re seeing in other countries,” he said. “ opefully, we can look back comfortably a year from now and say we went too far and did too much. :e can’t sit back and say we didn’t do enough.”