Coronavirus: Wayland Moves To Postpone Election, Town Meeting

WAYLAND, MA — The Wayland Board of Selectmen made a series of major decisions Monday night in response to the new coronavirus outbreak. The town has declared a state of emergency, and voted to postpone both the spring election and Town Meeting.

The state of emergency will be in effect for at least the next five days. The declaration allows the town to take steps under state law to ensure public health and safety.

To postpone the election, the Town Administrator will have to seek a court order or an act of the Legislature. The election would have to be made up before Oct. 13.

Town Meeting was set to be held on April 5. Under the law, the town can postpone the meeting for only 30 days at this point.

These are just the latest steps Wayland has taken to curtail the COVID-19 outbreak. All town schools are closed, and the town building was closed to the public on Monday. So far, only one person has tested presumptive positive for COVID-19 in Wayland.