Published March 13, 2020
MELROSE — As the coronavirus continues its global march, city officials are keeping the public abreast of all the latest developments.
For one, all school field trips out-of-state and abroad have been canceled for the foreseeable future.
Mayor Paul Brodeur and Superintendent of Schools Cyndy Taymore say they are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 situation and to make preparations as new information emerges.
Health Director Ruth Clay is leading the city’s response, while Taymore is responsible for the schools. The three are meeting daily to review new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and other agencies.
“The health and safety of our residents and our workforce are our number one priority as this situation unfolds,” said Brodeur. “We urge you to continue to check our website for the most current information, including links to state and federal resources. We are basing our decisions on the information we get from public health experts.”
Brodeur and Taymore have created a dedicated page on the city website for updates on the COVID-19 situation as well as links to more information. The web page can be accessed at https://www.cityofmelrose.org/mayor/pages/covid-19-information
The Department of Public Works has begun enhanced cleaning procedures for all schools, and principals are reviewing how their schools’ spaces are arranged, and how students move through each school, to look for ways to reduce the possibility of transmission, especially to vulnerable students.
Superintendent Taymore has also released a statement to the school and the community at large regarding how she is approaching the COVID-19 situation.
It follows:
Our district and our community recognize that we are in a period of uncertainty with regard to the COVID-19 virus, in which conditions and the availability of information are evolving rapidly. Our district will adhere to the following framework when making decisions about events, field trips, and changes to our operations:
• Where explicit and clearly defined recommendations from public health officials (the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Melrose Board of Health) or the Governor’s office are available, we will adhere to them. Governor Baker has asked schools to cancel all international trips, and DESE Commissioner Jeff Riley has strongly recommended that we cancel any out-of-state travel.
• Where recommendations exist but they are not clearly defined, we will ask for clarity and explicit criteria from public health officials. The Health Director will participate in a conference call with the DPH on March 11, and I will participate in a conference call on March 12 with Commissioner Riley and DPH. We will press for clear and explicit guidance during these calls.
• I will continue to confer with our local Board of Health, public safety, and city officials to determine the best practices as advised by the scientific and public health community.
• I have already been attending a daily meeting with the Mayor, the Health Director, and other staff members. At these meetings, we share information and make decisions based on the most current information. Together we have launched a website, https://www.cityofmelrose.org/mayor/pages/covid-19-information, which has links to public health resources as well as the latest updates from the Mayor and myself.
It is important to remember that this is a rapidly evolving situation. We must be prepared for the possibility of changes with little or practically no notice. We may cancel an event the day it is scheduled or even an hour beforehand. We would prefer not to do this, but we are committed to following a consistent, logical, and informed decision-making process in order to keep the virus from spreading as much as possible while not causing undue panic.
That being said here is what we know:
• International and out of state trips for students are canceled for the foreseeable future. The governor will revisit these recommendations in 30 days, and we will follow his lead.
• We will continue to press for clarity and explicit guidance. We will adjust practices in accordance with that guidance.
• We will make adjustments and changes as needed. At this time, based on the information we have, we are not making final decisions about events in May or June. People should be prepared for cancellations, but we need to be careful not to make premature decisions when we and our health professionals do not yet have a clear understanding about the course of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
