Mayor Holaday's COVID-19 Update 4/2/2020

Mayor Donna D. Holaday

April 2, 2020 COVID-19 UPDATE

PortMedia recording of the speech can be viewed with this link.

Good afternoon everyone and thank you for tuning in as I provide our latest COVID-19 update.

As we have all heard, we are continuing to see the number of cases increase across the U.S., state and within our community. At this time there are now 18 confirmed positive cases of COVID19 in our city compared to three confirmed cases last week. Our Health Department continues to navigate the various guidelines that seem to be changing frequently. They are adhering to the CDC and DPH guidelines for persons with COVID-19 under home isolation, and the recommendation of all positive cases and those with close contacts to remain under quarantine for fourteen days. The 14 day quarantine is important for anyone arriving in the city from hot spots like NY and Florida.

Again, my thanks to our Health Director Frank Giacalone and his staff for their hard work in investigating, tracking, and following up on these cases. Their enforcement and monitoring of cases and those in quarantine in our City helps to minimize our exposure.

I know you have heard this hundreds of time by now, but it is critical as we wait for the surge and the impact of this virus on our state and community- please stay home except for essential trips and exercise and adhere to the critical social distancing protocol. We know this is the ONLY way to stop the spread of COVID-19.

If you or a family member is sick or not feeling well and may be exhibiting the main symptoms of COVID-19 - fever, coughing and shortness of breath, please call your health care provider for direction. Do NOT go to AJH or Urgent Care or your PCP without first calling; you do not want to potentially infect an office or site and waste PPEs, critical protective equipment for our health workers.

This virus is highly contagious and over 10 times more deadly than the flu. In many cases a person can be afflicted with the disease and be asymptomatic or show only mild symptoms. It can spread quickly and unknowingly. Many will recover from the virus, but our older population and those with existing health conditions are highly susceptible to the disease and highly vulnerable. We are also seeing the impact on all ages now. I know many are learning of a family member, friend, co-worker or acquaintance that has tested positive.

Testing continues to be limited and efforts continue to expand testing but it is still not enough. As more testing occurs we will see a continued rise in confirmed cases. The state of Massachusetts expects a surge of cases in the next two to three weeks and this is the critical point where we can limit the cases in our community, I repeat, this is the time where we can limit the spread of cases in our community. Please remember you could be a carrier of the virus and have no symptoms and infect others who may get very ill and potentially die from this virus.

We have to slow the spread of the virus, and our job is to help buy ourselves more time and prevent our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.

This is why we still have lots of work to do – and much of that involves social distancing.

Parents and teens- I am speaking directly to you. I know this is probably one of the hardest things ever asked, to stay home for weeks on end balancing working at home, remote learning with your children and staying safe and healthy. I have pleaded with the community and especially teens to take this pandemic very seriously- people are dying. The virus lives for extended times on surfaces which is why we closed on the playgrounds. Yet kids continued to gather for games forcing us to remove basketball hoops and backboards from Cashman Park and Kent St. I also threatened to close the rail trail. There are teens using ball fields, hopping the fence at the closed skate park and congregating in groups. We have noticed improvements but there still needs to be greater compliance.

We also fielded many complaints this past weekend about Plum Island, with the crowds including out of state visitors. We currently are restricting access to residents only and have closed the north point parking lot. We had hoped to coordinate our efforts with Newbury, but I understand they have opted to wait for an order from the Governor to close the beaches. We would like to keep the beaches open especially as the weather improves for residents to walk and exercise, but we need everyone to comply with social distancing it is simple in thought and actions - people need to be at least 6 feet apart from one enough to help prevent the spread of this virus. We need to respect this and stay away from each other.

On a positive note, my warning to close the rail trail coupled with people paying more attention to social distancing has helped. In keeping with this, I am redirecting more animal control time on the trail to help with compliance in social distancing. We have noticed improvements but there still needs to be greater compliance. This is a critical time period.

I am also pleased to report that Market Basket made some drastic improvements in their procedures over the past weekend based on our demand to adhere to the state’s guidelines for operations. Today, they began limiting the numbers of shoppers now being admitted. Thank you also to everyone for stopping the use of reusable bags for grocery shopping and using paper bags instead.

We continue to monitor this crisis situation and receive guidance from the state. We have an active line of communication with the Executive Office and are in constant contact with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and state agencies. As we take direction and coordinate with the state, we will make the best decisions possible, always keeping in mind our priority: the health, safety, and well-being of the citizens of Newburyport.

Governor Baker extended the shutdown of nonessential businesses and a stay-at-home advisory until May 4 as the state braces for an expected surge in COVID-19 cases. The order which was scheduled to expire April 7 is necessary to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and ensure the state has the resources for the outbreak. He also extended the ban of public gatherings of more than ten people, and a new directive prohibiting hotels and short-term rentals such as Airbnb and Home Away from booking for vacation or leisure purposes. The closure of the state’s school buildings and non-emergency day care centers remains in effect through May 4th .

This week, I was on a call with the Governor’s office, mayors and town managers on priorities including a major focus on procurement of needed supplies – 28,000 masks and gloves arrived, and 1000 ventilators expected by the end of this week. We also can be thankful Robert Kraft for the use of the Patriot’s plane to fly to China to pick up desperately needed PPEs that was scheduled to arrive at Logan this afternoon.

At this time, I would like to thank all of our volunteers who have worked to raise funds and provide supplies for our Anna Jaques heath care workers and our first responders. A special thank you to City Councilor Byron Lane for your generous efforts in securing masks for AJH and first responders.

The state is also working with medical schools on accelerating graduation of medical students, so these students can join the needed ranks of our strained health care workers. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is also allowing allow 75% of all activities related to the COVID -19 emergency as reimbursable, to the state (and ultimately to our city). We continue to have weekly calls and direct contact with AJH regarding their current status on positive cases and preparedness. Please see their website for additional information. They posted a letter to the community earlier this week which I encourage all to read- www.ajh.org/about/news/aletter-to-our-community

The Small Business Administration is also rolling out low interest loans and supports for businesses. The Chamber of Commerce has sent out an email to all businesses with information, FAQs and applications to apply for assistance. The information will be posted on the Chamber and City’s website. Our Senator Diana DiZoglio and Representative Jim Kelcourse are offering support to help businesses navigate the relief process.

Superintendent Sean Gallagher and the District Leadership team continue to work diligently to increase supports and resources for teachers, students and families. With the extended closure of schools, the schools are adding more structure to remote learning. I continue to hear remarkable stories about our teachers and their creative remote connections with students. We are so fortunate to have such committed and passionate teachers but please remember many of our teachers are educating students from home while at the same time taking care of their own children.

Your local government continues to function under a State of Emergency. City Hall and city facilities will remain closed to the public, including the library, Emma Andrews, Youth Services and senior community center, and all in-person public meetings and all gatherings in public buildings continue to be suspended. Meals-on-Wheels continues to operate out of the Senior Center and requests for the program is increasing. We continue working with Our Neighbors Table to provide food for families in need; orders are taken online with curbside designated pickups or Thursday mornings at Nock/Molin. The Salvation Army and several churches are offering meal programs- see Newburyport Connected for additional resources. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need assistance.

The legislature is working on rental and mortgage assistance and prohibiting evictions or foreclosures at this time. We should have more information on this shortly but I am asking landlords and property owners to show compassion as thousands of people are out of work or furloughed.

Our public servants continue to serve our community in this difficult time. We have taken measures to minimize the risk of our employees. In addition to minimum staffing, we set up our office employees to continue working remotely. We are encouraging residents to utilize our online services but can accommodate urgent needs in person by appointment. We adjusted shift schedules to ensure that our critical infrastructure, including the Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant, are adequately staffed with additional contingency plans. This allows greater flexibility for our employees, many of which are sharing in the care of children now at home or for elderly parents or relatives. Finally, our first responders continue to protect our residents and respond to all situations. Thank you to all my staff.

We have fielded many calls regarding the hydrant flushing occurring- why now? In reviewing this state mandate, if we did not complete the flushing it would place our water supply at risk. We really did not have a choice here. After the flushing of a hydrant in your neighborhood is completed, there will be brown water but it will dissipate usually within several hours.

Changes had to be made to several of our waste programs due to Covid-19 and length of time this virus lives: the yard waste facility will not open until after the surge, hopefully in May. I know yard work has been a task that many are engaged in but disposal must wait.

Trash and Recycling must be in barrels; trash must be in bags and please double-bagged if someone in your home is positive for Covid-19. Recycling continues to be loose in the designated barrel only. There are two temporary dumpsters, for trash and recycling only, at 59 Low Street, for residents only. This is the site of Emergency Operations Center, not the National Guard building, and is across the street from the Nock/Molin School. The site will be opened from 12 - 3 pm Monday- Friday and will be staffed. Only household trash and recycling is allowed.

Our Finance Team is working on adopting programs to assist in payment programs for property taxes and other bills. We continue to post daily local updates and links to information on our urgent alert page, CityofNewburyport.com/covid-19update. You can sign up to receive email alerts whenever the page is updated. We are also actively using twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to disseminate information. Links to all are found on the City homepage. Finally, we have staff available to answer questions, you can call or email individual departments or call my office. We are dedicated to keeping everyone informed, to connect those who need help and those who want to help and encourage all to be neighborly and work together to minimize coronavirus in our community.

As I mentioned, last week, we launched Newburyport Connected, a website for those who need help during this unprecedented time and for those who’d like to help. It contains information and resources on where to find meals and other support, and residents can sign up to be connected to those in need as well as our local nonprofits and social service providers. Thank you to all the businesses and individuals who have already done so much to help others. There may be many others who will suffer economically during this pandemic, so please visit the website, cityofnewburyport.com/connected, and reach out to a neighbor in need.

Our local businesses are so critical to the fabric of our community and our restaurants continue to operate through these tough times. Many have stepped up and provided free meals to our first responders, our health service providers, and those in need. Our local grocers are keeping their shelves stocked and their employees are playing a vital role in keeping our community nourished. Our health service workers and our first responders are on the front lines, leaving their own families at home to care for others and putting themselves in direct harm. I would also like to thank all the other workers across the city that continue to serve our community during these difficult times- postal workers, bank employees, restaurant workers, pharmacies, trash collectors and others providing essential services.

Please take time to acknowledge all of their efforts.

We are all affected by this pandemic, adjusting our lives and work as we all are asked to make sacrifices for the greater good. Please understand we have reached a critical point in this pandemic, and as this surge is coming, we can reduce the number of cases, flatten the curve by staying home except for essentials. We can and will save lives. Please continue hand washing and hand sanitizing frequently and vigorously. Clean and disinfect all surfaces. Always cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow. Please help do your part!

Now is the time to focus what’s most important in our lives – keeping our families, our friends, our neighbors, our community safe. Keep them in mind when making decisions. In the past when our parents and grandparents faced huge challenges with the Depression, great fires and major wars, we still share their heroic stories. Let us add our selfless and positive response to that history and how our community came together to survive this unprecedented challenge. We will get through this together but only if we stay away from each other right now.

Thank you, stay strong and be well.