Framingham Pause On Activities Due To Coronavirus Lifting

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham will end a freeze on civic and school activities one week early, although coronavirus cases are still on the rise in the city.

Last Friday, city and school officials announced a two-week pause on Framingham Public Schools (FPS) extracurricular clubs and athletics, plus parks and recreation and senior center activities. That pause will lift early on Friday with officials citing new health and safety procedures.

"Between now and Friday morning, activity organizers will be communicating new protocols to their participants and giving them time to plan ahead. Group organizers, coaches, and activity leaders will contact participants directly with detailed information," a city news release said on Wednesday.

Since last Wednesday, Framingham has added close to 2,000 new cases — a one-week record since the first case appeared here in March 2020. There are about 3,331 active coronavirus cases in the city at the moment.

Framingham schools have been a particular hotspot for cases during the recent surge. District-wide, 1,002 cases have been confirmed since Dec. 1, according to the FPS dashboard. Over 300 over those cases have been detected at Framingham High School alone.

Health officials believe the coronavirus spike will peak over the next two weeks. Coronavirus RNA in wastewater collected by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority has begun to drop off.