Less New Stoughton Coronavirus Cases A Positive Sign: Officials

STOUGHTON, MA — There are about 500 cases of the new coronavirus in Stoughton, as of Monday afternoon, according to town officials.

The number of cases roses by about 30 from Tuesday to Thursday last week, but just 12 new cases came in over the weekend, which Town Manager Robin Muksian Grimm said was much lower than expected because of increased testing.

"While we would rather have no new cases, this marks a significantly lower level of positive activity," Grimm said on her Facebook page. "I was holding my breath a little bit because of increased testing, which logically would lead to increase positives, but we didn't see that."

After speaking with town public health experts, Grimm said it may be that last week's spike was related to mass testing at nursing homes and other assisted living facilities. But since the majority of those tests have been completed, it's possible the number of cases are stabilizing. Grimm said more facts need to be compiled before knowing for sure though.

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Nearly 78,000 people in Massachusetts have tested positive for the new coronavirus as of Sunday afternoon, according to Massachusetts Department of Health data. According to the data, there have been 139 additional deaths, bringing to total number of deaths statewide to 4,979. Nearly 7,000 people have contracted the virus in Norfolk County.

Here are the latest updates from Stoughton:

Local Heroes
Stoughton High School Student Gaby Zola created a GoFundMe page and has raised tens of thousands of dollars to feed first responders. All the meals are coming from local eateries.Peg Carbone also spent her free time delivering food to Stoughton's food pantries.

SCHOOLS

The Stoughton Public Schools will be closed through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. This includes all schools and school activities.

BUSINESSES
Not everything is closed in Stoughton because of the coronavirus pandemic. Many essential businesses are still open to provide services such as food take-out, eye care and more. We've created a simple small business directory to help residents see what's open in Stoughton.
We put a call out to local businesses on Patch this week and asked them to update their status, give details on how you can continue to patronize them and to let the community know how they can best help during these challenging times. You can find the local guide here.

HOSPITALS
South Shore Health has set up a drive-thru tent at Union Point in Weymouth. Patients experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 should call the screening line at 781-681-0365. Upon calling, patients will be screened over the phone. If a patient meets state and federal criteria for testing, an appointment will be scheduled.