Published October 28, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The town is back in the “red” zone.
Due to 19 positive cases of the novel coronavirus from Oct. 4 to Oct. 17, the Massachusetts COVID-19 Command Center designated Lynnfield as a “red” community for the fourth time in the past two months on Thursday, Oct. 22. The town’s incident rate totaled 11.7. The latest virus spike occurred after the state previously classified Lynnfield as a “green” community on Oct. 14.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Community Level Data Map uses color codes to designate the number of COVID cases in each community at a given time. A designation of “gray” means fewer than five reported cases in a community. A “green” designation means fewer than four cases per 100,000 of population. “Yellow” means four to eight cases and “red” indicates more than eight cases based on a population of 100,000.
Town Administrator Dolan informed the Board of Selectmen on Oct. 19 that four people were hospitalized due to the virus.
“That is something we have not seen in awhile,” said Dolan.
As of Monday, there were 170 total cases since March, of which 132 people have recovered from the virus. There are currently 24 active cases. Fourteen residents have died from COVID-19.
The day after Lynnfield was designated as a “green” community, the Emergency Management Team made the difficult decision to shut down youth sports for two weeks because 15 COVID-19 cases in an eight-day period were attributed to youth sports activities.
“I want to thank the youth sports leagues for being so cooperative,” said Dolan.
Selectmen Chairman Chris Barrett concurred with Dolan’s viewpoint.
“On behalf of the Board of Selectmen, we appreciate the community’s patience,” said Barrett. “We understand there is disappointment, but we appreciate residents doing what they need to do in order to protect all of the residents in the town of Lynnfield.”
The Massachusetts COVID-19 Command Center classified 77 cities and towns as “red” on Oct. 22. The number of “red” communities in the state increased from 40 on Oct. 7 to 63 on Oct. 14.
“It was previously a Lynnfield issue, but the increase in COVID-19 cases is a state and national issue now,” said Dolan in an interview with the Villager. “Wakefield is also a ‘red’ community, so it is going deep into the suburbs. Our goal is to keep people healthy, especially the elderly and those who are medically compromised, as well as keep kids in school in the hybrid model. It is going to be up to the community in order to help us accomplish this goal.”
Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Glenn Davis agreed.
“Our residents are currently at the state’s highest level of risk from COVID-19,” said Davis in a statement. “The rate of COVID cases locally is much higher than the state’s average. We all need to do more to protect our families, loved ones and community. As a high-risk community, it remains critically important for all residents to follow state regulations and CDC best practices to allow us to continue our hybrid school model for our children, support local business and perhaps save a life.”
Davis urged residents to wear a mask when outside or inside shared spaces when people can’t practice social distancing. He also encouraged townspeople to frequently wash their hands.
“Keep gatherings small, even with family and friends, and make sure everyone wears a mask and keeps a safe distance,” said Davis. “All indoor gatherings are limited to 25 people in a single enclosed space. All outdoor gatherings, including those at private residences or private backyards, are limited to a maximum of 50 people.”
Davis also urged residents not to share food or drinks and to follow the state’s travel quarantine guidelines.
“Stay home if you feel sick,” said Davis. “If you feel sick, get tested. There are many free testing sites in the area and we encourage those that have symptoms or may have been exposed to get tested. Area testing sites can be found at www.mass.gov/stopthespread.”
Dolan also encouraged residents who might have been exposed to COVID-19 to let the Board of Health know if he or she is contacted as part of a contact tracing investigation.
“If you are contacted, please be open and honest,” said Dolan. “There is an unfortunate stigma attached to this disease and it is no one’s fault if they get COVID. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have. Just be honest with the people who call you so we can prevent further spread.”
As of Monday, Dolan said the town has no plans to cancel Halloween unlike other communities such as Haverhill and Salem.
“We want to do Halloween safely,” said Dolan. “We want to have a reasonable Halloween because we don’t want house parties and we don’t want people to hold neighborhood functions. We want people to separate and wear masks, and not just the costume masks they are wearing. We want people to be safe and give our children a safe and enjoyable night because they have lost so much.”
If residents have any questions, Davis said they should call the Lynnfield COVID information helpline at 781-334-8141 or visit www.lynnfieldoem.org.