Published April 29, 2020

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The number of residents who have tested positive for and passed away from the COVID-19 virus increased last week.

Town Administrator Rob Dolan informed the Board of Selectmen on Monday that there are 68 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19, and 10 people have died from the virus. There were five deaths as of April 20.

“The tragedy of this virus has hit our community hard,” said Dolan during an April 24 press conference. “These are not just numbers. These are people. They are neighbors, friends and loved ones. We want to extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends and neighbors. Obviously we cannot give out their names due to privacy issues, but they are people who have made their mark on the community in many ways.”

Dolan said local officials sympathize with residents who are currently sick with COVID-19 or have loved ones who have been diagnosed with the virus.

Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Glenn Davis concurred with Dolan’s viewpoint during an April 24 press conference.

“Please keep all of these families in your thoughts and prayers,” said Davis. “These people are somebody’s loved ones. They are not just numbers and statistics.”

Davis urged residents to continue practicing social distancing.

“Stay home, stay safe, save lives,” said Davis.

Davis encouraged parents to prevent their children from hanging out at different places around town. He also urged residents to only go out to do essential errands such as going to the grocery store or the pharmacy. He said people should be wearing a face mask or face covering when they are unable to stay away at least 6-feet from other people.

“That is not a replacement for social distancing,” said Davis. “We still need to practice that.”

Davis informed the Villager that residents don’t need to wear a face covering while going for walks outside, but said they should bring one just in case they are around groups of people.

Reopening discussions begin

Dolan told the selectmen on Monday that local officials have had preliminary discussions about a “slow reopening and how that is going to look” after Gov. Charlie Baker lifts the state’s stay-at-home order. Baker announced on Tuesday afternoon that the stay-at-home order has been extended until at least Monday, May 18. “We are talking about the future so that we can get ahead of it,” said Dolan.

Dolan said the town has begun making “small adjustments” to running its daily operations, and is taking a number of precautions in order to keep employees safe. He said public safety and DPW employees are getting their temperature taken when they come to work and when they leave. He said the DPW is allowing only one person to use a truck at a time and only one police officer is allowed in a cruiser at a time. Municipal vehicles are getting thoroughly cleaned after they are used.

The DPW started having small groups of employees working on outside projects on Monday, Dolan said. He noted custodians will be cleaning the town’s schools so that students and teachers will be able to safely retrieve their belongings. He also said there was at least one person working in each Town Hall office on Monday.

While the town’s parks and recreational facilities remain closed, Dolan said local officials are preparing for when Baker will allow recreational facilities to reopen. He also noted that the town will need to regulate local restaurants once they are allowed to reopen.

“There is going to have to be some regulation and cooperation, with MarketStreet in particular, in order to make this happen,” said Dolan. “The same thing is true with stores. We are going to be working with MarketStreet’s management in order to make that happen. Everyone wants to do the right thing here.”

Dolan also said there are some youth sports leagues discussing the possibly of holding “shortened seasons” this summer if it’s allowed.

“We are obviously not going to approve it or disapprove it without guidance from the governor’s office so that there is some uniform management of this,” said Dolan.

Dolan noted Wakefield officials have reached out to officials from neighboring municipalities about holding a regional meeting to discuss reopening their respective communities.

“They want to talk about some of these issues like the states have done so communities can have a game plan about expanding operations,” said Dolan.

Town Moderator Joe Markey informed the Villager he is continuing to monitor the pandemic, and said there is a possibility the Annual Town Meeting will be delayed from Wednesday, May 27 to sometime in June. The legislative body was originally scheduled to meet on Monday.

“Realizing that conditions may not have improved sufficiently to hold our Annual Town Meeting at the scheduled May 27 date, a further delay may be needed,” Markey stated in an email sent to the Villager.

Selectmen Chairman Phil Crawford hopes the town can reopen sooner rather than later.

“I want to thank everyone for abiding by our social distancing rules and restrictions on town properties,” said Crawford. “It makes it much easier for our town employees to operate and do what they need to do.”