Mayor Holaday Delivers weekly COVID-19 Update
Mayor Donna D. Holaday's COVID-19 Update
October 22, 2020
UPDATE: UPDATE: Since the Mayor recorded this update, the City of Newburyport has been elevated to the Yellow Risk Category by the state due to increases in COVID-19 cases. There have been 19 new cases in the last 14 days in the community. We urge everyone to do their part, follow protocols, and take all necessary precautions to keep our cases low and keep our community safe.
Good afternoon everyone. As I said last week, COVID-19 has been in our midst since last winter, and now with the fall weather and winter coming, we must continue to remain strong and vigilant, knowing we’ll be spending more time indoors. Because we’ve worked so hard to open the community safely, we are still seeing a low transmission rate of the virus, and our community is currently designated as a “green zone” or “lower-risk” which has enabled us to continue to expand our reopening under the state’s guidelines. However, transmission of the virus is increasing in many Massachusetts communities, and so we must continue collectively to do all things safely and creatively to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The academic year continues, and we continue with our overall case counts remaining low and well managed within the school system. The students are getting into a routine and have been focused. In addition, our teachers and staff continue to become more comfortable with our hybrid format.
Many of them are working well beyond their hours planning and prepping lessons. The district’s health services department and Newburyport Department of Public Health are working together to monitor cases and provide additional information as appropriate. We are fortunate to have such dedicated staff. They remain diligent in adhering to the public health risk reduction strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our school community and to continue in-person learning. It truly does take a village.
However, the recent positive cases we have seen in the K-8 grades are the direct result of non-school sponsored sporting activities with travel teams playing in other communities and on occasion out-of-state. Coaches, Assistant coaches and players that have tested positive requires extensive work by our school nurses and Health Department in conducting contract tracing of any of our students playing on these teams. We have had to quarantine dozens of students and family members as a result but because of the cohorts established in K-8, thankfully we have not had to shut down our schools. With cases climbing, I am asking parents to really think about having their children participating in these travel teams.
Our City continues its commitment to the well-being of our retail, restaurants and small businesses within Newburyport during this economic crisis from the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. And with the beautiful fall outdoor weather, we can still currently get out and be active. So please, do go outside, and support our local stores and restaurants! They really need us at this time more than ever. We are currently in Step 2 of Phase 3. You can visit the state’s website at www.mass.gov/covid for everything you need to know about COVID in Massachusetts.
We are still accepting grants applications for the $400,000 grant award by the Department of Housing and Community Development. The program provides $10,000 grants to income qualified small businesses with 5 or fewer employees to pay for rent, a mortgage, employee wages and technical assistance. Applications will continue to be accepted until the grant money is dispersed. We encourage eligible businesses to apply. Please visit the city website and go to the “Small Business Relief Grants Now Available” on the homepage to apply online. Governor Baker announced today that $50.8 million in grants is available to support small businesses, microenterprises, and their employees, families and communities. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will be administering these funds to businesses experiencing economic hardship and a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MGCC website is https://www.empoweringsmallbusiness.org/covid-19-response/covid-19-grants-massachusetts-small-businesses. We will also post the link on the city web page.
On October 17, the Massachusetts eviction moratorium ended, and the law that protects tenants from eviction during the pandemic is no longer in effect. We want to help. Please, if you are a Newburyport resident whom is having difficulty paying rent due to economic impacts of COVID-19, you may qualify for assistance through the City of Newburyport Emergency Rental Assistance Program. These grants are available to financially assist qualified households during this crisis. We have partnered with Pettengill House and have professionals available to assist anyone with the application process.
We strongly encourage you to reach out to them at 978-463-8801 or you can go to their website at www.pettingillhouse.org.
Early voting is underway at the Senior Center at 331 High Street, and will end on Friday October 30, 2020. Please go to www.cityofnewburport.com/city-clerk, and then click the Election News link for hours. Face coverings are also required at the center, and social distancing guidelines will be in place. On Tuesday, November 3, voting will occur from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM at your usual ward polling place. For all registered voters who are voting by mail, in addition to mailing your ballot, another option for completed ballots is to hand deliver and place your ballot in the secure mail drop located on the front steps of City Hall at 60 Pleasant Street. We are receiving many, many hand delivered ballots this way, and encourage it. Voting is so important. As the late Congressman John Lewis once stated “The vote is precious. It is the most non-violent tool we have in a democratic society, and we must use it.” Please vote.
Regarding the celebration of Halloween this year, please understand that we have spent much time assessing our position here. Halloween is not a City sponsored event but a time-honored tradition where we knew many would want to participate in Trick or Trick. We coordinated with our neighboring communities and police departments to ensure our residents take the utmost precautions for their Halloween celebrations. We ask that you will keep kids in your local community only. Trick-or-treating will take place this year between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM on Saturday evening, October 31st. Traditional trick or treating is strongly discouraged, however, should residents partake in trick-or-treating, we encourage all to precautions - wear masks and gloves, observe good hygiene including hand washing and use of alcohol-based sanitizers, be outside of your home and offer individually drop wrapped candy in bags. Those who do not wish to participate in Trick-or-Treat are asked to shut off their outdoors lights as an indicator. I want to emphasize that trick-or-treat is a higher risk activity, even when taking the precautions I just stated. Costume parties with groups are also high risk and strongly discouraged. We have posted CDC and state guidance for trick or treating on the home page and COVID sections of the city website www.cityofnewburyport.com. Please familiarize yourself with these recommendations and follow them.
By taking the key steps of wearing a mask, keeping our distance, gathering only in small groups outdoor, and washing our hands, we can provide our children a safe and Happy Halloween this year.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation with the closure of City Hall to the public these last months. We have had to make facility modifications that needed to be completed, in addition to some extensive air quality testing in our older facilities including City Hall. These precautions have been necessary to reduce the potential for airborne transmission of the virus as part of the larger strategy that we all know includes social distancing, wearing face coverings, surface cleaning and disinfecting, and handwashing. We are currently planning to reopen City Hall and other city buildings to the public on or around November 9. More information will be forthcoming on offices re-opening, schedule and access. In the interim, please continue to conduct much of your business online, by mail, or by phone. You can also call ahead and make an appointment.
The city has also completed The Newburyport Climate Resiliency Plan. The plan was developed to help guide our community in preparing for storm surge, sea level rise and climate change impacts. The plan is before the City Council, and we are planning to present the plan to the public in coordination with Storm Surge early in the new calendar year. The full report is posted on the city’s website under the planning department. I would like to thank the ad hoc Resiliency Committee for their extensive time commitment, deep research and well-developed plan for our city.
I recently participated in solidarity with several other community leaders in a video that will be forthcoming, entitled “Hate Has No Port Here”, in response to the local incidents of racism that we have experienced in Newburyport. We believe in a vision of Newburyport as a welcoming community. We also believe it is critically important to make a strong statement that hateful and racist speech and actions have no home in Newburyport. We have also just completed the selection process for membership in our new Newburyport Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Alliance, or in short, the DEI Alliance. There will be 24 members comprised of local political, religious, business, community advocates and citizens.
We are in the notification process to all who applied, and wish to thank you for your interest in the Alliance. We expect to begin our work in November.
On a positive note, I wish to share a few highlights of the week. Our Neighbors Table just celebrated their “Unity in Community “ annual breakfast meeting via broadcast. The organization has had a profound effect across our region, providing over 1.1 million pounds of food to the communities-at-large during this crisis. In Newburyport alone, over 817 Newburyport residents utilized their services, and 365 more became first time users. In addition, I’m proud to advise that the Newburyport Public Schools received the ONT Champion Award. Our Neighbor’s Table said that the schools went above and beyond this year feeding families during the pandemic. They applauded our district’s commitment to this spirit when it’s been needed most. Congratulations to Pam Kealey in Food Service and Cathy Riccio with Health Services for all of their efforts!
And also, this week City Hall got a visit from some second and third graders from River Valley Charter school who had some very civic minded thinking.
They recently were given a lesson on the history of Columbus Day, and the current nationwide movement to change the name to Indigenous People’s Day. The students were moved to write letters and hand deliver them, hoping that Newburyport could be among the progressive cities to make this change. It was wonderful to meet them and hear their thoughts as we socially distanced on the sidewalk at City Hall.
Lastly everyone, please keep in mind that the virus is still here, and as has been the case all along, our best defenses to keep our loved one, neighbors and ourselves safe from this virus is to continue to wear a mask whenever we are around others, keep our distance from each other, wash our hands frequently, and stay home when we don’t feel well.
Thank you, have a good evening.