Mayor Tom Koch COVID-19 Update on Wednesday 4-29-20
Full Transcript… Hello, Quincy. Tom Koch here giving you the latest update on COVID-19 as it relates to Quincy. We now have 792 confirmed cases with 70 deaths and almost 300 fully recovered. The deaths have not increased since yesterday. I believe we are just over 60,000 across the Massachusetts. You can get those stats from the Governor’s briefings. As you may know, the Governor did extend the stay-at-home advisory until May 18. We are in a lot of discussions with the administration and I have had direct conversations with the Lt. Governor about re-opening. I meet on a regular basis by zoom and other conference calls with a number of Mayor’s groups (metro mayors, mass mayors) and we are talking about how to re-open and ramp back up. It is not going to happen at the flip of a switch, rather, a gradual re-opening. For example, I had conversations last week with large corporate businesses, cleaners, barbers, etc. I put the question to them of how we should re-open. For example, it is hard to keep social distancing in a barber shop. The state is working on some guidelines as we go forward with that. However, a golf course can open much more quickly because golfers carry their own balls and they can go one person in a cart. We are going to do the best we can on getting to the point of ramping up again. I do think we have to get moving. We have been in the surge period the past few days, but it appears we are plateauing which is a good sign. If we can keep going in that direction, the curve will go down and then we can talk about what week we can re-open. If the curve doesn’t start to drop, the Governor will extend that say-at-home advisory. A stay-at-home advisory recommends that you stay home, social distance and do not go out unless you must. Supermarkets and pharmacies are open. The Health Commissioner and I issued not too long ago that you must wear masks, but people are confusing that. If you are out on a walk by yourself there is no reason to wear a mask, but if you are going into a store and coming into close proximity to other people you should be wearing a mask. It is common sense. The other thing I want to remind everyone about again is that now that people are using more masks and gloves, our streets and our parks are full of litter. Please dispose of them properly. Do not add to the burden of the situation. That is the latest here, we will continue to keep you updated everyday as we have been doing. It is another beautiful sunny day, but the forecast looks like it is going to get rainy again which may make is easier to stay inside. In the meantime, stay safe, god bless and we will talk to you tomorrow.
