WAKEFIELD leaders discuss coronavirus recommendations. (Courtesy Photo)

Published in the March 9, 2020 edition.

WAKEFIELD — Last Tuesday, Wakefield leaders gathered to learn the latest Coronavirus guidance and review preparedness plans across town disciplines. Health Department Director Ruth Clay and Emergency Management Director Thomas Walsh led representatives from area public safety, EMS, school, business, and healthcare facilities in a discussion about Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations.

“Our team has been consistently monitoring Coronavirus developments,” noted Clay. “We participate in weekly calls with the CDC to be sure we have timely and accurate information. We plan for situations like this. In fact, we just held a tabletop exercise with leaders from Melrose, Malden, and Medford in January.”

The Town Council is scheduled to receive an update at their meeting tonight as well.

While the CDC indicates that the current risk is low, the Wakefield Health Department recommends that residents prepare for this increasingly probable threat. Reports about the incubation period of the virus, also known as COVID-19, range from 14 to 27 days.

Residents should not prepare for massive shortages, rather “social distancing,” which may also be a proper response during a flu pandemic. This approach allows individuals to have enough supplies on hand so they don’t have to go to a store and push a carriage, handle money, touch boxes of food, or wait in line in a crowded area with others who may have an illness. It is recommended that people have at least 14 days of non-perishable food, pet food, medication and cleaning supplies.

“If we see events cancelled or schools closed we can rest assured that this is to slow down spread, not something scarier,” notes Ian Mackay, PhD from the University of Quennsland. Local public health officials will be in constant contact with residents with timely and accurate information. Residents are urged to get their information from trusted experts, like the CDC website, www.cdc.gov, and be very cautious of news from social media or other unofficial sources. Residents are also urged to enroll in Wakefield’s CodeRED e-alert system which is used to communicate urgent messages to residents. One can enroll via the Town’s site at wakefield.ma.us site or Police Department’s site at www.wakefieldpd.org.

Resident recommendations:

Do:

• Enroll in Wakefield’s CodeRED e-alert system at www.wakefieldpd.org

• Continue to keep up to date with information, as it changes constantly

• Have a thermometer to check temperatures

Don’t:

• Repeat information that is not from either the CDC of MA Department of Public Health’s websites

• Avoid people and/or businesses based on ethnicity

The CDC recommends the following steps to help prevent the spread of the virus:

• Avoid close contact with sick people

• Stay home if you are sick and limit contact with others as much as possible

• Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth; germs spread this way

• Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub with at least 60 percent alcohol.

Please contact the Wakefield Health Department at 781-246-6375 if you have any questions, concerns, or additional input.

For the latest information on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.