By State Representative Denise Provost

MORE Coronavirus Updates

 New Public Health Restrictions:

Our state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has directed all elementary and secondary schools in Massachusetts to suspend “educational operations” from Tuesday, March 17, until April 7, 2020. Somerville’s public schools have been closed since March 11. Read further in this newsletter for more information about how school meals will be safely provided to students.

Governor Baker also issued an emergency order limiting gatherings (including in gyms and health clubs) to no more than 25 people, rescinding his March 13th order prohibiting groups of over 250 from congregating. This order also prohibits on-premises consumption of food or drink at bars and restaurants. The “take out only” rule begins tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17, and is scheduled to remain in effect until April 5, 2020.

Finally, all non-emergency state employees working in Executive Branch agencies have been told not report to their workplaces on Monday, March 16th and Tuesday, March 17th. This should be welcome news to all who have contacted me about the need for state workers to have a telecommuting option.

These are among the welcome policy changes that should help slow community transmission of the virus which causes COVID-19.

No “Public Charge” Penalty for Immigrants Seeking COVID-19 Testing or Treatment:

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that “the ‘Public Charge’ rule does not restrict access to testing, screening, or treatment of communicable diseases, including COVID-19…To address the possibility that some aliens impacted by COVID-19 may be hesitant to seek necessary medical treatment or preventive services, USCIS will neither consider testing, treatment, nor preventative care (including vaccines, if a vaccine becomes available) related to COVID-19 as part of a public charge inadmissibility determination… even if such treatment is provided or paid for by one or more public benefits, as defined in the rule (e.g. federally funded Medicaid).”

See the full notice here https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/public-charge

Massachusetts Cases Increase; Other Data:

The new directives limiting public gathering and encouraging social distancing come as COVID-19 cases increase in our state. The limited availability of testing until now means that many cases are likely going undetected. Even symptomatic attendees of the now-infamous Biogen conference in Boston had difficulty getting tested, as recently as last week: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/11/nation/how-biogen-leadership-conference-boston-spread-coronavirus/

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) daily case count was updated on Sunday, March 15, to 164, with 1,083 people in quarantine. On Saturday, March 14, the total had been 138 cases of COVID-19, of which 104 were linked to the Biogen Conference. Eleven of these patients were hospitalized. This total was an increase over Friday’s 123 cases and Thursday’s 108 cases. As of Saturday, the case count for Somerville was holding steady at three.

DPH says that starting Wednesday, March 18, it will start releasing data on how many individuals have been tested, along with the weekly quarantine figures. This will be in addition to the data already being reported on confirmed and presumed cases on DPH’s COVID-19 Website. You can keep up with the numbers at: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-cases-quarantine-and-monitoring.

As of Sunday, March 15, the state public lab had tested 799 individuals since February 28, 2020. To put this number in perspective, on the same day Scotland had confirmed 800 cases of COVID-19. Scotland has a population of about 5 million: Massachusetts has six and three-quarter million people.

Wider Testing, More Information Available:

DPH has issued new, less restrictive guidance to healthcare providers as to who should be tested: “Massachusetts has now begun to see some initial evidence of community spread of COVID-19 and the Department of Public Health (DPH) has made recommendations consistent with a transition into the community mitigation phase of the response,” according to a DPH memorandum, available for download here

Other DPH Public Information Sources:

DPH has also announced today that the Massachusetts 211 telephone line will provide real-time COVID-19 information, resources, and referrals in multiple languages, 24/7, from any landline or cellphone. Callers will hear an automated menu of options; press 26 for coronavirus. Caveat: I hear that this line is swamped with calls right now. There is also a live chat option on the Massachusetts 2-1-1 website.

Feeding Out-of-School Students: Somerville School Department Update:

Starting Monday, March 16, the Somerville Public Schools’ Food & Nutrition Services Department “will be making take-home breakfast and lunch available to SPS students and families in need. Families can pick up meals Monday through Friday between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. at 3 central locations across the city — East Somerville Community School, Winter Hill Community Innovation School, and West Somerville Neighborhood School. SPS staff and volunteers will be outside each school to hand out packaged breakfasts and lunches. As a reminder, if you are showing symptoms of illness, we ask that you please make alternate arrangements for pickup of your meal. We will also be asking families to follow social distancing norms during the pick-up process.”

“The Somerville Backpack Program will continue to be in operation in a limited capacity. Families who receive Friday backpack bags will be receiving a phone call or email about picking up bags during this closure period. If you do not receive a call or email, please reach out to Meghan Bouchard at mbouchard@k12.somerville.ma.us.”

Protecting Older Folks:

On Friday, March 13, the Trump administration directed the nation’s 16,000 nursing homes stop almost all visitors, calling this “severe” step essential to preventing elderly people, who are at higher risk of developing severe cases, from contracting COVID-19. The Gerontology Institute at UMass recommends this video by Dr. Jay Butler. He is the Deputy Director of Infectious Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control, and has advice on what older people can do to keep themselves healthy in this outbreak: https://youtu.be/QNo5ZDvKuHg

Feeding Ourselves: Buy Fresh Food, Support Massachusetts Farmers:

The Somerville Winter Farmers Market – like other programming at Arts for the Armory – has been suspended for the duration. But it’s still possible to buy fresh, local produce from our Somerville Winter Farmers Market vendors, through direct order from these farmers. Support Massachusetts agriculture by visiting the “online farmers market” here: https://www.somwintermarket.org/vendors

Help Feed Others:

These three Somerville organizations are looking for healthy volunteers to help distribute food during this emergency. All three food service organizations are practicing COVID-19 safety, which requires more volunteers than usual:

SOMERVILLE FOOD SECURITY CONNECTION

Contact: Lisa Brukilacchio at  lbrukilacchio@challiance.org

FOOD FOR FREE

Food For Free is mobilizing a volunteer team via the google form below. They will be in touch with interested folks regarding opportunities as they arise: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSed0cSIoOc7-Fvoms3VHR1Lc44fjql-vTNknz_a-7T_sKDnrw/viewform

PROJECT SOUP

Project Soup is looking for volunteers to help at its community food center, and its food bank. It could also use assistance with toiletry drives, including diapers.  Please contact: Ben at bwyner@shcinc.org or djacobs@shcinc.org or phone 617-776-7687.

Unemployment Claims Flexibility:

Our state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) recently received federal guidance allowing flexibility with unemployment compensation for individuals affected by COVID-19. EOLWD is considering “emergency regulations to assist those whose employment has been affected by the virus.”

No Utility Cutoffs for Duration:

On March 13, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities issued a moratorium to suspend all shut-offs of gas and electric utilities for residential customers during the COVID-19 State of Emergency. This action was taken to ensure that residential customers will continue to have electric and gas utility service for the duration of the state of emergency.

Also, for the next 60 days, Verizon will waive late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of economic difficulties related to the coronavirus. Verizon says it will not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the epidemic.