Beverly Mayor: Hopeful Coronavirus Signs After A Hard January

BEVERLY, MA — There are "hopeful" signs to conclude a very difficult January battling the coronavirus in the city.

Mayor Mike Cahill said in a letter to the community that the virus killed 25 residents in the first 25 days of the month, but that "after a significant spike in people hospitalized locally" because of the virus after the holidays, positive cases have trended downward for the past two weeks.

"Let's please keep them and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers," Cahill said of the 25 lives lost.

He asked that residents continue to follow coronavirus protocols as vaccination efforts ramp up over the next few months.

"Massachusetts is currently only receiving about 80,000 vaccine doses per week, a number that hopefully will increase many times over in coming weeks," he said. "The state, and we in Beverly, are all working to prepare and set up the vaccination infrastructure necessary to get vaccines in the arms of every resident of this state as soon as possible. So that, once the flow of vaccines is wide open, we can collectively make it happen."

A regional site for all Beverly residents included in phase 1 of the state's eligibility for vaccines will be open at Salem State University on Thursday. A mass vaccination site is also planned for the Double Tree Hotel in Danvers in the coming weeks.

Those eligible for the vaccine in phase 2 whose primary care physicians are based at Salem Hospital and Beverly Hospital should be able to get the vaccine at an offsite clinic in Beverly set up by the hospitals.

"It is my understanding that each resident will have multiple options for where to get vaccinated once eligible," Cahill said. "There are many moving pieces and we learn more each day. I will continue to do my best to keep information flowing and help each of you navigate this vaccination process."

Cahill said the city is also evaluating its resources to provide additional coronavirus testing, and that testing sites and dates could be added soon, but that in the meantime the "Stop the Spread" sites in Salem and Lynn remain open for relatively quick (between 24 and 48 hours) turnaround of free tests.

"There are good days ahead for us," he concluded. "Let's do everything we can to help each other get to the other side of this pandemic. And in the meantime, please reach out and help friends, family members, and neighbors find hope, find good and find joy in each day and in every way that we can."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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