City of Framingham Provides Guidance To Slow Spread of Coronavirus

The following is a press release from the City of Framingham submitted to SOURCE media. It is published as received.

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FRAMINGHAM – The City is following the safety recommendations as outlined in the State of Emergency declaration by Governor Charlie Baker, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

City operations, including regular and internal business, as well as mandated public hearings, Council, Board and Commission meetings, will continue for now. We will monitor the situation and make adjustments as required.

The City understands that residents, who are vulnerable to COVID-19, may be reluctant to attend meetings in person.

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Framingham has created an email address to allow people to make a public comment. We encourage the public to send emails for public comment to publiccomment@framinghamma.gov. In the subject line of the email, denote the name of the public hearing, Council, Board or Commission meeting that should receive the comment. Please send your comment at least two hours before the posted start time of the meeting.

Check the City of Framingham website for updated information on COVID-19, mandated hearings and meetings.

Updated Guidance for People at Higher Risk for Severe COVID-19 Illness
In line with advice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), people who are at high risk include:

 People, regardless of age, with underlying health conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, or chronic lung diseases like COPD, as well as those with severely weakened immune systems.

 Older adults. The risk begins to increase over 50 and increases significantly with age, with persons over age 70 and 80 in the highest risk categories.

The CDC and MDPH strongly urge that persons in the above categories do the following:

 Stay home as much as possible.

 Avoid travelling on cruises and airplanes.

 Reduce as much as possible your presence in large gatherings of people.

If You are Not Feeling Well, or Have Travelled Internationally Recently
Before deciding to go to the hospital, please call your primary care provider and tell them about your symptoms and if you’ve travelled to any of the areas listed in the CDC travel warnings which can be found here.
They will give you instructions on how to get care without exposing other people to your illness. While sick, avoid contact with people, don’t leave your home and delay any travel to reduce the possibility of spreading illness to others. If you need to call 911, provide these same details; tell them about your symptoms and if you’ve traveled to any of the areas listed in the CDC travel warnings.

Information about Framingham Public Schools

Yesterday, Wednesday, March 11, the City of Framingham announced that it was made aware that a parent of a Potter Road Elementary School student tested presumptively positive for COVID-19. The student, who we will call Child A, began a home quarantine starting Wednesday, March 11.

Potter Road Elementary School was dismissed at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 11, for deep cleaning.

Child A attends classes with a number of students at Potter Road School and rides a school bus with a small group of students from Potter Road School and Hemenway Elementary School. The School Department informed all parents of those children who attend classes and ride the bus with Child A, as well as teachers, the bus driver and the school nurse that they were potentially exposed to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Based on guidance from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MA DPH), those identified need to be quarantined for 14 days and may return to school or work on March 26th – as long as they are symptom-free.

Those in quarantine and/or their parents or caretakers will monitor their symptoms and have been instructed to call healthcare providers if they
develop symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 (for example: fever, cough, and shortness of breath).

The School Department has decided to cancel all Framingham Public Schools classes and activities on Thursday, March 12, to allow for each public school to be deep cleaned. Framingham Public Schools will
resume on Friday, March 13.

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As always, the safety, health, and security of residents are the City’s top priority. The City will continue to work closely with relevant State and City departments to respond to this evolving situation.

For information from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, click here.

For information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, click here.