Published July 24, 2020
MELROSE — Concern swept through the city last week after at least one high schooler tested positive for COVID-19. Two days later, at a quickly put together free and open-to-the public event, hundreds of people turned out to get nasally tested.
The community pop-up testing, funded by the state, was so busy that it went into a second day on Saturday at the Melrose High-Veterans Memorial Middle School campus. Over 1,500 residents were tested, with 11 positive results (one being from a non-resident).
When it was made public Wednesday, July 15, that at least one Melrose High School student had tested positive for the coronavirus, social media lit up with rumors, innuendo and recriminations as anonymous participants named names and fanned the flames of panic.
By last Thursday night, Mayor Paul Brodeur had seen enough and tried to calm things down. In a July 16 video update, he said, “After several weeks of very few cases of Covid-19, the City has recently witnessed an increase in cases. The cases include people from different age groups. To be clear, the only people who know the names of people who have tested positive are the Health Director and the nurses doing the case management and contact tracing. They do not give any names, ages, gender, to anyone – including me and the Superintendent. They will not confirm or deny this information if asked.
“Many people have questions about contact tracing. For all positive cases, a member of the Health Department has contacted (and will continue to contact) any confirmed case of COVID-19. That person is given information about how to isolate for at least 10 days and given the opportunity to ask questions and continue to contact the department with questions or concerns. At the end of the 10 days the department will contact the person to discuss their health status and, if appropriate, release them from isolation. That is what is meant by ‘case management.’
“Part of the initial interview process is to ask the person to identify anyone they have been in ‘close contact’ within the 48 hours before symptoms appeared or after receiving the positive diagnosis. Close contact is defined as spending at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of the person who has tested positive. The department will then contact those people. If those are symptomatic they also go into isolation. If they are not symptomatic, they are put in “quarantine” for 14 days. They stay in quarantine even if they test negative. During that interview, the contact tracer will also ask if they are employed, and if so, where and in what capacity. A determination is made as to whether their work and/or contact with workers would require further contact tracing or notification.
“This is what the Board of Health has been doing for all cases, including the most recent ones. The age and activities of the person dictate where the investigation goes and the action taken. If a person who is positive has been in a group setting, the Health Department will contact the entire group. If you have any questions about the process, the Health Department is happy to answer your questions.”