SWAMPSCOTT — Despite being placed for the first time in the red zone that designates communities as being in the highest danger for the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Swampscott will go ahead with its plans to open schools on a hybrid basis Monday, the town administrator’s office said.
Swampscott was included among 77 cities and towns in the red zone Thursday in the state’s weekly breakdown of COVID-19 statistics. It joins Lynn, Revere, Saugus, Lynnfield and Winthrop as area communities where the number of reported cases is at least eight per 100,000 residents.
Last month, in an effort to control the spread of the virus, town officials instituted four mandatory-mask zones, which included the beach area, the Vinnin Square shopping district, Puritan Road from the Fish House to Puritan Lane, and the area around the train station.
According to Allie Fiske, assistant town administrator of Swampscott, over the last two weeks, there have been at least 16 new lab-confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Swampscott. This does not include any probable cases or any close contacts under quarantine.
“This means that Swampscott is at high risk for the spread of COVID-19 within our community,” said Fiske “The town continues to do everything it can to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 and we have added an additional day to our free drive-through testing at the First Congregational Church.”
Fiske said testing will now take place weekly on Mondays from 2:30-6:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 2:30-6:3 p.m, and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon.
School Superintendent Pamela Angelakis had said in August, when she announced plans for the school year, that Monday, Oct. 25, would be the target date for classes to segue from 100 percent remote to hybrid. Fiske said that as of Thursday night, that is still the case.
“Swampscott Public Schools will still open as planned,” she saId. “The schools are following guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which states that learning will only transition back to fully remote in the case that our community remains in the “red” category for high COVID-19 risk for three weeks in a row.”
The number of new cases in Swampscott will continue to rise and fall, according to the town’s statement, but as the weather gets colder, “we cannot emphasize enough how crucial it is that you continue to keep up with all of the preventative methods we’ve been familiar with for months. Wear your mask, wash your hands, socially distance from one another, and take advantage of Swampscott’s free testing.”
In August, when the state began its color-coded chart that measures the danger for the spread of the coronavirus, there were only four communities represented — Lynn and Revere being two.
The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of Friday, the number of active, confirmed positive cases is 425, with 40 new ones.
In all, 4,853 Lynn residents have recovered and 122 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, including those who have died and recovered, is 5,390.
The city also announced that testing under the “Stop the Spread” initiative has been extended to Dec. 31.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) as of Oct. 21 notified the town of Saugus of 808 confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to the Saugus Health Department this includes 43 deaths in Saugus.
On Friday, the town’s Border Cafe reopened after closing for nearly 10 days following the detection of multiple positive COVID-19 cases among staff.
Health Director John Fralick said the restaurant — which had already closed and reopened after a single employee tested positive earlier this month — was shut down again by the Saugus Health Department on Oct. 12 when two additional employees were found to have contracted the virus.
In a statement provided to The Item, Fralick urged residents to remain vigilant in guarding against the virus.
“We’re not faced with a situation where more and more municipalities are receiving high-risk designations as we enter into an anticipated second surge period akin to what we experienced in April,” he said. “(We) appreciate the vigilance and courtesy we’ve seen from our residents, but the fight is not over. We must remain cognizant to the fact that COVID-19 remains a very real threat, and we must respect it.”
Marblehead, Salem, Peabody and Nahant are all in the yellow grouping, which indicates a moderate risk — between four to eight cases per 100,000. Still, the City of Salem has taken measures to keep visitors to the area in anticipation of Halloween to a minimum.
The communities now place in the red zone are Abington, Acushnet, Ashland, Attleboro, Avon, Berkeley, Boston, Boxford, Brockton, Buckland, Canton, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chicopee, Clinton, East Longmeadow, Everett, Fairhaven, Fall River, Framingham, Gloucester, Hanover, Hanson, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Lawrence, Leicester, Lowell, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Marlboro, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Methuen, Middleboro, Middleton, Milford, Millville, Milton, Monson, New Bedford, North Andover, Norwood, Oxford, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Raynham, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Saugus, Scituate, Seekonk, Shrewsbury, Somerset, Somerville, Springfield, Swampscott, Tyngsboro, Wakefield, Waltham, Webster, West Bridgewater, West Newbury, Westfield, Westport, Weymouth, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester and Wrentham.