April 1, 2021 by Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham has remained in the medium-risk COVID-19 "yellow" zone during the past three months, with 47 new cases since last week's Massachusetts Department of Public Health report.
Last week's statistics showed 39 new cases since the earlier report, with 42 the previous week and 46 the week before that. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Hingham since Jan. 1, 2020 is 1,785.
There were 82 new COVID-19 cases reported in the last 14 days, as compared with the same number last week, 81 the previous week, and 85 the week before that.
New vaccination program for the homebound
There's a new statewide program that offers in-home vaccinations for homebound individuals who cannot leave their home, even with assistance, to get to a vaccination site and who meet certain eligibility requirements.
For further information, call the Homebound Vaccination Program Central Intake Line at 1 (833) 983-0485, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Due to logistical considerations around vaccine expiration while in transit, those scheduled to receive in-home vaccinations will be grouped based on their locations rather than on a first-come, first-serve basis. It may take individuals several weeks to get an in-home vaccination due to these challenges.
Individuals who need assistance pre-registering or scheduling an appointment at a vaccination site may call (877) 211-6277.
Vaccine rollout
The MDPH recently announced the schedule for vaccine eligibility for all remaining groups in Massachusetts as follows:
- As of March 22: Residents 60 and older and certain workers, including public works, public health, water, and utility workers, became eligible for the vaccine.
- April 5: Residents 55+ and residents with one certain medical condition become eligible.
- April 19: General public ages 16 and older become eligible.
COVID testing site hours
The mPathy COVID-19 testing center at 308 Cushing St. is now open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Preference for Hingham residents and town employees will still be given between 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. each testing day.
Appointments may be made online at https://www.mpathy.org/
"This testing site is still pretty busy," Town Administrator Tom Mayo told the Selectmen this week. "It's open fewer hours now, but the public is still using it along with other testing centers in the area. It's a great strategy to fight COVID-19."
Reminders:
- The Hingham Health Department posts weekly COVID-19 data from the MDPH and the Hingham Public Schools in a dashboard that is updated every Friday at https://www.hingham-ma.gov/
860/COVID-19-Updates. All cases are laboratory-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases. - Visit https://www.hingham-ma.gov/
CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=940 for Updated COVID-19 Isolation and Quarantine Guidance.