Dedham Town Closes All Buildings, Facilities, And Playgrounds

From the Town of Dedham:

March 18 2020

At an emergency meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, March 16, the Board of Selectmen voted to declare a local state of emergency. Board members, meeting jointly with members of the Board of Health, voted to close all Town playgrounds and to post information about the closures in those public spaces. Effective Tuesday, March 17, all Town of Dedham buildings and facilities will also be closed to the public.

These restrictions are intended to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus through social distancing. As a reminder, social distancing means remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings, and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet or 2 meters) from others when possible.

In addition, the Board of Selectmen voted to encourage all boards and committees to minimize meetings by only undertaking essential business during the three weeks that schools and other Town facilities are closed.

Public safety departments will continue to be fully staffed.

Town staff will be available via email and phone and will respond to queries in a timely manner. For staff contacts, please see each department page.

The Board of Selectmen also voted to postpone the Town election, which was scheduled for April 11, to a later date, yet to be determined, authorizing Town Manager Leon Goodwin and Town Counsel to file legislation to this effect.

Minutes of Monday's emergency meeting will be made available as soon as possible.

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