October 29, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
This is the third consecutive week that Hingham has been in the COVID-19 "red" category, with 17 new cases in the last week. This now puts the town in the "high-risk" zone, with additional restrictions on various businesses and activities.
That said, Supt. of Schools Paul Austin told the Hingham Anchor that at this point he doesn't anticipate any changes to the current model of learning and why. (See comments below.)
Today's Massachusetts Department of Public Health statistics -- now released on Thursday rather than on Wednesday -- show a Hingham case count of 41 in the last 14 days, for a total of 412 COVID-19 cases since Jan. 1.
Town Administrator Tom Mayo reiterated at Tuesday's Selectmen's meeting that "a prolonged period in the red category could negatively impact our local economy and our ability to enjoy many of the sectors and activities that have cautiously reopened over the past few months."
At tonight's Selectmen's meeting, Mayo provided the following update: "We were just notified that Hingham has entered our third consecutive week in the state’s COVID-19 'red' category, which means that we are now considered a high-risk community."
This means that effective Nov. 2, Hingham is required to revert to Step 1 (from Step 2) of Phase III of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan. "Along with that designation come some additional restrictions," Mayo said.
During the board's Oct. 22 meeting, Mayo said the town was taking its then-first week in the "red" zone seriously and warned that the MDPH had informed town officials that Hingham would find itself in the "high risk" category if it remained in the "red" category for three consecutive weeks.
Entering Step 2 of Phase 3 for lower-risk communities -- as Hingham was at that time -- allowed indoor performance venues to open at 50 percent capacity for a maximum of 250 people and for outdoor performance venues to increase their capacity to 50 percent, with a maximum of 250 people; fitting rooms to reopen in all kinds of retail stores; libraries, museums, and gyms to increase their capacity to 50 percent; and outdoor public gatherings to increase the number of participants to 100 over the previous 50 limit.
Reverting to Step 1 will mean that many of those businesses will be required to reduce their capacity.
Following meetings among town officials tomorrow, details of how this status will impact the town will be posted on the town website, hingham-ma.gov.
Upon hearing the latest statistics, Austin told the Hingham Anchor: "As you can imagine, we are watching the metrics very closely, particularly as they might relate to our schools. While the town has remained in the 'red zone,' [our school] district has not had any new positive cases this week, which is good news for us to continue in-person. Thus, I do not anticipate any changes to our programming at this point."
However, Austin continued, "It goes without saying that the increases in positive cases across the Commonwealth are very concerning. To this end, the district will continue to work collaboratively with the Hingham Board of Health to review these metrics and to make decisions that are focused on the safety of our staff and students. As always, I encourage the Hingham Public Schools community to remain vigilant in following the recommendations of the MDPH and the Center for Disease Control."
As background, last week's statistics showed 24 new Hingham COVID-19 cases since Oct. 14 and a case count of 39 in the last 14 days at that time.
The week before, MDPH statistics showed 19 new COVID-19 cases since Oct. 7 and at that time, a case count of 33 in the last 14 days.
The Health Department continues to work with the state’s Community Tracing Collaborative and state epidemiologists to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Mayo is asking members of the community to provide the requested information if they are contacted by local or state public health officials for contact tracing purposes.
Anyone who is within six feet of an individual who has had a positive test result for more than 15 minutes is considered a "close contact" and therefore required to quarantine for 14 days.
"If you are subject to a quarantine, a negative test will NOT lift the quarantine – you must remain home for the 14-day period and refrain from engaging in school, sports, work, and other activities," Mayo said.
Stating that "we are all struggling with 'pandemic fatigue,'" Mayo suggested that residents who are struggling "reach out if you need help."
The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health offers several resources and tips for reducing stress, boosting mental and emotional health, and engaging in healthy coping strategies at https://www.mass.gov/resource/maintaining-emotional-health-well-being-during-the-covid-19-outbreak
Residents may also access the state’s free 24-hour COVID information and referral hotline to find out about mental health resources by calling "211."
Town officials are asking all residents, businesses, and visitors to be vigilant in following state and federal COVID-19 social distancing, face covering, and other recommendations.