Town of Bedford ~ Update on Covid-19 ~ Thursday, 30 April 2020

Editor’s Note: In addition to Bedford’s current case count, today’s important updates include details about tomorrow’s Food Bank; ‘Answer the Call,’ Bedford’s initiative for monitoring Covid-positive residents; and information about Massachusetts’s moratorium on eviction.

Click this link to read the Town’s full update for Thursday,  April 30, 2020

The daily update is also available in the following places if you’d like to share with your friends:

Website ~ www.BedfordMA.gov

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Facebook ~ @bedfordma

Twitter ~ @BedfordMAGov

CURRENT CASES

As of today, April 30, 2020, there have been a total of one hundred and twenty-eight (128) positive cases of COVID-19 in Bedford and ten (10) deaths reported to the Town of Bedford Board of Health by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH). The total case number includes residents of the Town of Bedford, Hanscom Air Force Base, and the Bedford Veteran’s Administration (VA) Campus as reported to us by the MA DPH.

Twenty-five (25) of the total Bedford cases have already recovered and have come off of isolation and there are currently zero (0) known Persons Under Investigation. There are other individuals impacted by COVID-19 in the community who have not sought medical attention, and/or have not been tested and are isolating at home regardless. Those individuals do not appear on the surveillance reports the Town receives from the MA DPH.

The Board of Health continues to do the appropriate follow-up and outreach to those residents and close contacts known to us and the VA is conducting follow-up and contact tracing of the Veterans under their care. Many of the identified close contacts of some of the Bedford cases never exhibited symptoms, have completed their required quarantine period, and have been released from quarantine by the Board of Health.

Please note, in part to alleviate the community concern, the VA does do a daily report of their numbers, which includes inpatients, outpatients, and staff, many of whom do not call Bedford home. VA information can be found here: https://www.accesstocare.va.gov/Healthcare/COVID19NationalSummary

IMPORTANT UPDATES

To assist and support Bedford residents in need, the Town of Bedford has established a temporary food bank at John Glenn Middle School (JGMS). This week, the Food Bank will be held Friday, May 1, 2020, from 1-3 PM at John Glenn Middle School. As a reminder, the Food Bank is for the following groups: school-aged children/families of the Bedford Public Schools in need of food support at this time (including, but not limited to, students currently on free or reduced breakfast and lunch), previously identified vulnerable seniors and veterans, and existing clients of the Bedford Food Pantry. For more information on the Food Bank, please visit www.bedfordma.gov/bedfordfoodbank. There will be a separate food bank delivery system for homebound seniors and disabled residents. If you are homebound resident, and in need of food assistance, please e-mail [email protected].

The Bedford Board of Health asks Bedford Residents to be part of the COVID-19 solution and “Answer the Call!” If you have tested positive for COVID- 19 or if you’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive, the COVID Community Team, including the Bedford Community Health Nurse and the School Nurses, will be reaching out via phone to you and your close contacts to slow the spread. We will help support you and will help to keep track of symptoms to move you through isolation and quarantine appropriately. The Caller ID on your phone will show the call is coming from one of the following phone numbers: (781) 999-2093, (781) 999-4209, (781) 999-4223, (781) 999-4236, (833) 638-1685 or (857) 305-2728. Your name will not be publically released but the information you can provide to us is imperative in slowing the spread so we can get to the other side of this outbreak. Bedford Residents, Answer the Call!  Please do not use the above phone numbers for general inquiries on COVID-19.

For information on COVID-19 and the COVID-19 response in Bedford, please call the Bedford Board of Health at 781-275-6507 or visit the BOH COVID-19 website.

Moratorium on Eviction On April 20, 2020, Governor Baker approved the Moratorium on Eviction during the Covid-19 Emergency. Unless extended by the Governor, this protection will end on August 18, 2020, or 45 days after the end of the Massachusetts state of emergency, whichever comes first. This law is intended to keep tenants from being evicted, and from having to cope with the eviction process, in the midst of our current public health crisis. However, tenants will ultimately still be responsible for lease payments to their landlord. In an effort to clarify tenant’s rights and responsibilities under the law, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Development (DHCD)  issued more detailed guidance for tenants: https://www.mass.gov/doc/dhcd-guidance-and-form-instructions-for-tenants-eviction-moratorium/download

Additionally, the Mass. Housing Partnership (MHP) developed a resource guide for tenants and others facing financial distress due to the emergency.  This is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese on MHP’s website: https://www.mhp.net/news/2020/resources-for-tenants-during-covid-19-pandemic

Stay healthy!…(and wash your hands as often as possible.)

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