TOWN COVID-19 WEBINAR PROVIDES ANSWERS TO RESIDENTS’ QUESTIONS

0

Photo: pixabay.com

by Art and Maura Keene

Amherst Town Government held  two webinars on the COVID-19 emergency on Thursday April 2 at Noon and at 5 PM..  The aim of the webinar was to provide up-to-date reports from Town Officials on the Town’s response to the emergency and to offer residents an opportunity to ask questions.  The webinar was accessible via Zoom and was recorded for possible future broadcast. Sixty-four people tuned in to the Noon webcast and 46 to the 5 PM webcast. 

The panel that reported out and then took residents’ questions consisted of:
Town Manager Paul Bockelman,
Superintendent of Schools Michael Morris
Town Health Director Julie Federman
Communications Manager Brianna Sunryd

All participated remotely.  The webinar began with a set of reports from Town officials and then turned to questions from town residents.

Updates/Reports
Paul Bockelman,  Town Manager

Commendations

  • Commends Town staff for keeping on top of things.
  • Notes how things are changing rapidly and that this requires quick adjustments from staff
  • Grateful for patience of all
  • Commends Town Council for their support and for help in getting word out to the public
  • COVID-19 crisis will change the way we do business in many ways.  This will likely go on for a long time.
  • Shoutout to maintenance crews at Town Hall.

    Announcements and Updates
  1. Town’s first responders are healthy and available and have the equipment that they need.  Anticipating that the number of calls will accelerate in the next 2-3 weeks. At the moment calls for fire, police, and EMS are at record lows.
  2. We have five new student fire fighters who have joined the force to back up regular fire staff should regulars become ill or require quarantining.
  3. DPW are also considered first responders and are essential to keeping the water running.  All are healthy and available.
  4. Town operations are going well.  Town Hall is mostly shut down but some people still have to come in to tend to essential functions (like opening the mail) but staff is being kept to a bare minimum.
  5. All town playground equipment is now closed.
  6. The Governor’s ban on gatherings of more than ten people is being enforced in the Town.   Enforcement will be largely ,educational. If town police are aware of a gathering of more than ten people they will engage and disperse  but there are no plans for ticketing or penalties.
  7. Bockelman is getting  force capacity reports daily from each Town department. 
  8. Continuity of operation plans (COOP) have been established for many departments.
  9. Flushable wipes are NOT flushable and their increased use is  requiring a lot of maintenance to Town pipes with crews being dispatched to clear pipes.  DPW appeals to please do not flush anything down the toilet besides toilet paper. Wipes labeled flushable will not flush and will increase the maintenance burden of the DPW.
  10.  Town’s COVID-19 website is emerging and is planned to be a comprehensive one stop source of information on the virus.  www.amherstcovid19.org
  11. The town feels largely deserted and this is a sign that people are taking the stay home directive seriously and that’s what we need right now.
  12. Vulnerable Communities – the Director of Senior Services, Mary Beth Ogulewicz,  is keeping tabs on needs of seniors and the Town has been seeking options for people who need to isolate at home who do not have a home.

Mike Morris, Superintendent of Schools

  1. Schools will be closed until at least May 4 which is when the Governor’s current stay-at-home order is set to expire.   What will happen after that remains to be seen.
  2. Distance Learning – the State has provided guidance for distance learning (DL). What we have now is DL  1.0 which is basically enrichment activities. DL 2.0 is coming soon. This will offer more organized and more structured  and more robust opportunities.
  3. ARPS has given out over 300 chrome books to insure that all have access to online learning and are identifying mobile hot spots for those without internet access.
  4. Principals at Amherst’s  elementary schools are making an effort to remain socially connected with students.  They are sending out 2-3 videos/week to help maintain social connections and are also using social, media, email, and conference calls. 
  5. Fort River teachers and staff are planning an automobile parade through neighborhoods in the Fort River School catchment to sustain connections with their students.  More information here.
  6. All school buildings have been sanitized and buildings are locked and closed.
  7. Food Scarcity – within two days of the COVID-19 closure,  ARPS began food deliveries to a number of sites around town in partnership with UMASS Dining.  To date – over 5000 meals have been distributed and now the number of meals in Friday meal boxes will be increased to four to help families get through the weekends.
  8. More information here.

Questions from Webinar Participants.
Note:  Questions were submitted via the Q&A function on Zoom and were moderated by Town Communications Manager Brianna Sunryd.  Questioners were not identified and there was not sufficient time for the panel to reply to all questions submitted. Below, we report on the questions posed at the Noon session,

What should college students living together in an apartment do to stay safe and healthy?
Federman: Support each other and be attentive to each other’s emotional needs as well as physical needs. Get outside while still maintaining social distancing – If you stagger this, you can help open up your space and ameliorate potential claustrophobia. Young people are getting sick too so it’s important to adhere to the same guidelines as others. Wash hands,  cover coughs, stay home, socially distance, consult with a physician if feeling ill.

Can we get a WMASS testing site?
Bockelman: There is a centralized testing site in Shrewsbury. Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) is working on getting a facility going here. But the real limiting factor is the availability of testing kits.

Can Amherst Media make time available to teachers?
Morris: Amherst Media has been showing instructional videos and videos from their archives that have educational content and they have been in conversation with the school district on how they might help.   Regional PBS stations are also putting up a lot of good content. 

What is being done to help local businesses apply for federal aid?  Do you have any information on rent delays or rent supports?
Bockelman: The Chamber of Commerce has been working hard to stay in touch with local businesses and address their concerns.  Rent is an individual issue but several landlords have been generous with rent abatements. More information relevant to this question will appear on the Town’s new coronavirus web site, as that information becomes available.   There is a tip jar on the Chamber’s web site where people can make contributions to support local businesses. 

How is the town working with the  Massachuetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to do contact tracings and is there any way that residents can help?
Federman: We have a well established method that we’ve been using for 20 years for contact tracing.   If any resident tests positive for C19, the town gets that information electronically from DPH. The person with C19 is then contacted by the Amherst Department of Health (ADH) and are directed to self–isolate  and to provide a contact history. Those who have had significant contact with the infected person during the period of contagiousness will then be directed by ADH to quarantine for 14 days. ADH is bringing on new staff to help with contact tracing and no help from the public is necessary.  Residents can rest assured that if someone has tested positive, that people in their contact history will be contacted/informed by the town.

If schools resume on MAY 4 or after,  when would classes end and what would it mean for September?
Morris: The last day of school is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23 regardless of if/when we go back to class. We are just starting to grapple with what school will look like in the fall. We’re thinking about how this will be challenging both academically and socially/emotionally and thinking about how we’re going to have to change things up to adjust to this.  There will definitely need to be adjustments – to address work that wasn’t completed in the spring, to get students back into an academic mode of thinking, and to address social and emotional issues created by the emergency and the hiatus. We’re talking about this now.

How does testing work and how do we get tested?
Federman: Right now you need to meet criteria to get tested. To be tested you must be referred by your primary care provider (PCP). Right now access to testing is quite limited.  (Editor’s note: Locally, testing has been restricted mostly to first line clinical staff,  patients admitted to the hospital, and people who are ill and who are considered to be at high risk because of underlying medical conditions).  Most results are now coming back in 24-48 hours and people who test will be asked to stay at home until results come back. Do not go directly to your doctors office or to CDH.  If you do not have a PCP or do not have insurance call 888-554-4234  (CDH) and they can help you get connected with either a provider or with insurance.  If you are ill and don’t have a PCP – call that number to receive instructions on what to do.  ALWAYS CALL FIRST.

Playgrounds are closed.  Can we still go to the park?
Federman: We closed the playground equipment because we can’t keep it sanitized and safe but sure,it’s ok to play in the park, just not in groups.  Even within groups of under ten people, people should observe social distancing of six feet (outside of members of the same family group). We encourage people to get outside.  But don’t use the basketball courts or engage in any games where there is physical contact or sharing of objects (like a ball). 

Do we know how many cases there are in Amherst? 
As of today there are 81 cases in Hampshire County. (Editor’s note:  You can track case count by county here. )   ADH gets a report on every confirmed case in town. In compliance with DPH recommendations,  we are not publicly reporting our town numbers as this poses a danger of compromising an individual’s privacy.

UMass dining is making deliveries for children.  What about meals for seniors?
Bockelman: Our Director of Senior Services, Mary Beth Ogulewicz ,has been coordinating delivery of meals for seniors who are in need of them. She can be reached at 413-259-3060 .

We have heard that that the Amherst High School building is being converted into a medical facility.  Is this True?
Federman:  No. And there are a lot of rumors circulating so it’s a good idea to vet information with reliable sources.  The Town’s COVID19 web page should be a good go-to source once we are up and running. 

If someone is infected and doing self quarantine at home – how will they get the food and supplies that they need?
Federman: First,  let’s distinguish between Quarantine vs. Self-Isolation.  They are similar but not the same thing. If you test positive, then you must self-isolate.  This means staying as much as possible in your own room, ideally with your own bathroom, and, if a private bathroom is not available,  then ensuring that the bathroom is sanitized after each use. Self-isolation means keeping the patient as isolated as possible from everyone else in the household.

If you have COVID-19, then people who have been in contact with you need to be quarantined for two weeks (which is the maximum length of the incubation period),  meaning that they should remain at home and curtail contacts with anyone outside of your household. People who are in need of support because of their isolation should contact the Town Manager’s office.  We’re still working on an emergency support team to address these needs. 413-259-3002.

I was told by my PCP that they can’t see me if I am ill.  What am I supposed to do?
Federman:  The trend now is to ask people to stay home when they feel ill  to prevent the spread of disease. In many cases, symptoms will be assessed over the phone and patients will be advised accordingly.  Some PCP’s are doing video conferencing. People should make inquiries with their PCP and call them back if their symptoms get worse. People with severe shortness of breath or other breathing problems should call 911.

Spread the love

Leave a Reply

The Amherst Indy welcomes your comment on this article. Comments must be signed with your real, full name & contact information; and must be factual and civil. See the Indy comment policy for more information.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.