Bedford Town Publishes Coronavirus Update For June 7

Press release from the Town of Bedford:

June 7, 2020

The Bedford COVID-19 Task Force met Sunday, June 7 2020 to review the latest guidance from the Department of Public Health (DPH), the office of Governor Charlie Baker, and Town Legal Counsel.

The COVID-19 Task Force is comprised of the following Town officials:

Sarah Stanton, Town Manager

Jon Sills, Superintendent of Schools

Heidi Porter, Director of Health and Human Services

Robert Bongiorno, Police Chief

David Grunes, Fire Chief

Taissir Alani, Facilities Director

Current Cases

As of today, June 7, 2020, there have been a total of two hundred twenty-eight (228) positive cases of COVID-19 reported to the Town of Bedford Board of Health by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH), of those, one hundred twenty-two (122) are Bedford residents not living in a healthcare/long term care setting. Forty (40) deaths of Bedford residents have been attributed to COVID-19. The total case number includes residents of the Town of Bedford, including but not limited to those in: single-family homes, apartments, the VA campus, Hanscom Air Force Base, special needs group homes and any and all other larger assisted living/care facilities in Bedford as reported to us by the MA DPH.

As you may be aware, long-term care facilities serving the elderly and congregate care facilities, house susceptible populations with underlying conditions who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Increased testing occurs at these facilities and results in more positive cases being identified. As such, cities and towns with these facilities, like Bedford, experience elevated positive case counts and, unfortunately, deaths due to the vulnerability to COVID-19 of the populations within those facilities.

Seventy-one (71) of the total Bedford cases have already recovered and have come off of isolation and there may other Bedford residents who would be considered persons under investigation in that they are symptomatic, have undergone testing but have not yet received results. There are other individuals impacted by COVID-19 in the community that have not sought medical attention, and/or have not been tested and are isolating at home regardless. Those individuals do not appear on the surveillance reports the Town receives from the MA DPH.

The Board of Health continues to do the appropriate follow-up and outreach to those residents and close contacts known to us and the VA is conducting follow-up and contact tracing of the Veteran’s under their care. Many of the identified close contacts of some of the Bedford cases never exhibited symptoms, have completed their required quarantine period and have been released from quarantine by the Board of Health.

Please note, in part to alleviate the community concern, the VA does do a daily report of their numbers, which includes inpatients, outpatients and staff, many of whom do not call Bedford home. The information can be found here: https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary

Phase II Reopening Plan

On Saturday, June 6, 2020, Governor Baker announced that due to continued statewide positive trends in the key public health data, Step 1 of Phase II Reopening of the economy would start on Monday, June 8, 2020. The following businesses will be eligible to reopen on Monday, with contingencies:

• Retail, with occupancy limits;
• Childcare facilities and day camps, with detailed guidance;
• Restaurants, outdoor table service only;
• Hotels and other lodgings, no events, functions or meetings;
• Warehouses and distribution centers;
• Personal services without close physical contact, such as home cleaning, photography, window washing, career coaching and education tutoring;
• Post-secondary, higher education, vocational-tech and occupation schools for the purpose of completing graduation requirements;
• Youth and adult amateur sports, with detailed guidance;
• Outdoor recreation facilities
• Professional sports practices, no games or public admissions;
• Non-athletic youth instructional classes in arts, education or life skills and in groups of less than 10;
• Driving and flight schools
• Outdoor historical spaces, no functions, gatherings or guided tours;
• Funeral homes, with occupancy limits

The following businesses will be eligible reopen in Step 2 of Phase II at a later date to be determined:

• Indoor table service at restaurants
• Close-contact personal services, with restrictions, including:
• Hair removal and replacement
• Nail care
• Skin care
• Massage therapy
• Makeup salons and makeup application services
• Tanning salons
• Tattoo, piercing and body art services
• Personal training, with restrictions

In anticipation of the Phase II announcement, last week, the Board of Health shared Phase 2 protocols and details with many sector specific Bedford businesses or programs (for whom we have contact information) in an effort to help them better understand the requirements that must be met prior to re-opening. If you are a business not currently receiving COVID-19 Reopening emails from the Bedford Board of Health please contact us at 781-275-6507 to be added to our contact list.

Rallies and Protest Safety During COVID

As residents are taking to the streets in Bedford and other communities to protest racism and rally in support of social justice and civil rights, the Bedford Board of Health supports residents’ desire and right to express themselves and offer the following precautions to implement before, during and after you gather to help you stay safe during COVID-19.

Before:

• Assess your personal COVID-9 risk
• Assess and discuss COVID-19 risk for those you live with
• Stay home if you are sick
• Bring hand sanitizer or wash hands before and after
• Bring water to stay hydrated
• Wear a face covering that covers your nose and mouth

During:

• Maintain physical distance of at least 6 feet from others
• Do not shake hands, hug, or have long face to face conversations
• Avoid touching your face

After:

• Take a shower and clean your belongings as soon as you can
• For 14 days after attendance at an event where you may have had an exposure, please perform self-monitoring: check for fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other COVID-19 symptoms. Seek medical attention if you develop symptoms.

Individuals who are participating in protests and related large public gatherings may have a heightened concern that they may have been exposed to COVID-19. If you were not able to be consistent with social distancing and face covering recommendations, speak to your healthcare provider and consider getting a COVID-19 test about 5 days after the event.

Be safe and if you have any questions about COVID exposure you are encouraged to reach out to your health care provider of the Bedford Board of Health at 781-275-6507.

This press release was produced by the Town of Bedford. The views expressed here are the author’s own.