Acting Town Administrator James Purcell confirmed today that the Town of Swansea has been notified by Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials of a second confirmed case of COVID-19 in Swansea.
From Governor Charlie Baker’s office:
Baker-Polito Administration Announces Extension of School and Non-Emergency Child Care Program Closures and Steps to Ensure Housing Stability To Support COVID-19 Response
All schools, child care programs will remain closed through May 4
BOSTON – The Baker-Polito Administration today announced new actions to support the ongoing COVID-19 response, including extending the closure of all public and private schools and non-emergency child care programs and steps to protect homeowners and low-income tenants from eviction and foreclosure. The Department of Public Health (DPH) also issued an order relative to pharmacies and grocery stores.
Schools and Non-Emergency Child Care Programs: Governor Charlie Baker issued an emergency order extending the closure of all public and private schools, and all non-emergency childcare programs, until May 4 in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.
Read the Orders here: K-12 School Order | Early Education School Order
Remote Learning and Education: During this time, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is requesting that educators continue to develop and assemble high-quality educational materials to provide students with effective remote learning resources through the month of April. The Department is also creating a model for districts to use and modify in collaboration with local stakeholders to fit their school district’s needs, and will continue to work with schools to identify best practices for implementing effective remote learning.
Remote learning encompasses a wide variety of learning methods, including both analog and online. While technology is an excellent tool, districts should also consider ways students can continue to learn offline.
This could include exploring nature, activities to support students’ local communities (with appropriate social distancing) and engaging in hands-on projects and artistic creations that stem from students’ experiences.
Additionally, through a new partnership between DESE and WGBH, educational resources will be posted on the department’s website, and middle and high school students can access WGBH and WGBY educational programming on WGBH and WGBY on the WORLD channel from noon to 5 p.m.
Housing Stability for Vulnerable Populations: The Baker-Polito Administration announced steps to keep vulnerable families in their homes, preserve the health and safety of low-income renters and homeowners, and prevent homelessness due to reduced or lost income. These steps include the following:
Read the DHCD Guidance Here:
Guidance to owners of state aided low-income housing
Guidance to affordable housing operators
Notices and guidance regarding federal and state rental assistance programs:
Pharmacies and Grocery Stores: Today, DPH issued a new order to support pharmacies and grocery stores and their employees during the COVID-19 public health emergency. This order will require grocery stores and pharmacies to:
The Administration will continue to update the public on further developments and individuals are encouraged to consult both the Department of Public Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites for the most up to date information.
The latest information and guidance regarding COVID-19 is always available at mass.gov/COVID19.
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The Swansea Town Clerk’s Office will be implementing the following procedures:
We are continuing to work (via phone) with funeral homes in regards to burial arrangements. The sale of graves will be conducted by appointment only.
Renewals can continue via US mail. There will be no issuances in-person. Dog licenses do expire on March 31st – there will be no late penalties until further notice
Residential/Recreational License issuance will cease until further notice. Commercial Shellfishing Licenses will be issued by appointment only.
These documents can be obtained by calling ahead and ordering over the phone. Pick up of theses documents will be by appointment only.
Intentions will only be filed by appointment only.
No applications will be accepted for the next 30 days. Anyone who presently has a decision in the 20-day appeal period and has received a letter that the appeal period has ended, may call the Town Clerk’s Office. We will prepare your certified document for recording at the Registry of Deeds. Pick up of these documents will be by appointment only. All petitions for the April Meeting will be carried over and heard at the May meeting at this time.
Issuance of Solicitation Permits will be suspended for the next 30 days. The Town Clerk’s Office urges anyone with questions to contact the office at 508-678-9389 ext. 2.
Sincerely,
Diane Pelland
Swansea Town Clerk
From Governor Baker’s office:
BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced the COVID-19 Advisory Board, a group of medical experts that will support the Response Command Center as the Commonwealth continues to respond to COVID-19.
The Response Command Center, under the leadership of Secretary Marylou Sudders and reporting to Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, is the Commonwealth’s single point of strategic decision making and coordination for the Administration’s comprehensive COVID-19 response.
The COVID-19 Advisory Board, which first met on Wednesday, March 19, will advise the COVID-19 Response Command Center on key decision points in the state’s response, including expanding access to testing and planning for medical surge, and will formally meet weekly for updates. Advisory Board members include:
Scott Gottlieb, MD, American Enterprise Institute – Scott Gottlieb, M.D., is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He returned to AEI in 2019 after serving as the 23rd commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At AEI, he continues his work on improving public health through entrepreneurship and medical innovation and on expanding regulatory approaches to maintain patient and physician autonomy.
Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital – Dr. Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, is Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a practicing Infectious Disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Walensky’s research interests focus on model-based analyses of the cost-effectiveness of HIV testing, care, and prevention strategies to inform HIV/AIDS policy internationally and domestically.
Paul Biddinger, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital – Dr. Paul Biddinger holds the MGH Endowed Chair in Emergency Preparedness and is the Director of the Center for Disaster Medicine, and Vice Chairman for Emergency Preparedness in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mass General. He is also the Director for Emergency Preparedness at Partners Healthcare. Dr. Biddinger additionally serves as the Director of the Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation and Practice (EPREP) Program at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and at the Chan School. Dr. Biddinger serves as a special advisor to the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Committee on Preparedness and serves as a medical officer for the MA-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) in the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) in the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Michael Wagner, MD, FACP, Wellforce – Dr. Michael Wagner is a physician leader who combines his unique experience as a primary care physician, hospitalist, entrepreneur and CEO to transform health care. Dr. Wagner has worked with caregivers in academic and community health care settings throughout the country. Today, he is the Interim CEO and Chief Physician Executive of Wellforce, a $2B and growing health system in Eastern Massachusetts that has been recognized for its high quality, lower cost value position and its commitment to keeping care in the community.
Eric Lander, PhD, Broad Institute – Eric Lander is president and founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. A geneticist, molecular biologist, and mathematician, he has played a pioneering role in all aspects of the reading, understanding, and biomedical application of the human genome. He was a principal leader of the Human Genome Project.
The Baker-Polito Administration announced the creation of a new COVID-19 Response Command Center on March 14, 2020.
The Administration will continue to update the public on further developments and individuals are encouraged to consult both the Department of Public Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites for the most up to date information.
The latest information and guidance regarding COVID-19 is always available at mass.gov/COVID19.
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From Governor Baker’s office:
BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration filed An Act to Further Address Challenges Faced by Municipalities and School Districts Resulting from COVID-19, which would provide administrative relief to state and local government entities impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, including modifying local permitting processes, enabling municipalities to extend tax and finance deadlines, and extending deadlines for certain education requirements.
Full details on proposed changes in the legislation include:
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SWANSEA — Acting Town Administrator James Purcell confirmed today that the Town of Swansea has been notified by Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Swansea.
The Town of Swansea has received notification Sunday from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. All appropriate notifications have been made to potential close contacts with this patient, in accordance with established protocol, and all close contacts have been notified that they need to quarantine.
The resident is currently isolated at home where they are recovering from the disease. COVID-19, the illness associated with the novel coronavirus, was declared a Global Pandemic by the World Health Organization and has moved Governor Charlie Baker to declare a State of Emergency and President Donald Trump to declare a National Emergency.
Swansea Board of Health officials are currently involved and will continue to closely monitor the situation. In order to protect the resident’s medical privacy rights, no additional information will be disclosed. Swansea Board of Selectmen Chairman Steve Kitchin, on behalf the Board of Selectmen, extends the best wishes for a quick and complete recovery to the patient.
“We are monitoring COVID-19 pandemic very closely, and we are following the latest guidance from state and federal public health officials, Town Administrator Purcell said. “We will continue to keep the residents of Swansea updated as more information relating to the COVID-19 public health crisis is available.”
Town Administrator Purcell stressed that this remains a very fluid and rapidly evolving situation.
All residents are urged to continue to practice social distancing and appropriate personal hygiene.
Families should practice social distancing with their children and follow these guidelines from state and local health officials:
Teens are included in this group, and activities like bike riding and hiking/walking are viewed as safer alternatives to gathering indoors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers the following guidance for how COVID-19 spreads:
Person-to-person spread
Can someone spread the virus without being sick?
Spread from contact with contaminated surfaces or objects:
It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads. As a precaution, it is recommended that residents clean things that are frequently touched (like doorknobs and countertops) with household cleaning spray or wipes.
The state has also set up the phone number 211 to answer questions that residents may have concerning COVID-19.
For more information, visit CDC’s website here or the DPH’s website here. Additional information regarding the Town of Swansea’s response to COVID-19 can be found on the Town’s website: www.town.swansea.ma.us.
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