Shrewsbury – Town Manager Kevin Mizikar said at the Oct. 6 Board of Selectmen meeting Shrewsbury is going in the “wrong direction” regarding the number of COVID-19 cases recently reported.
As such, town officials have decided to delay bringing all staff back to work at Town Hall.
As of Oct. 1, there were 411 cases in the town, an increase of 18 new positive cases since the previous week.
“We have moved from a green status of having less than four cases per 100,000 averaged out over a two-week period to greater than that,” Mizikar said. “Unfortunately, since last Thursday we have seen the number of cases per day rise.”
The increase amounts to roughly three and a half cases per day.
“There is no pattern or any anomaly that public health is indicating. These cases are spread throughout the community and we are just asking for the public’s continued and perhaps enhanced diligence in these matters,” Mizikar said.
With things opening back up, more opportunities for spread exist.
“Just to be frank, without sounding alarm, it just makes us have to think about should the town of Shrewsbury be moving forward with the over-all state plan, what impacts does it have on services at public buildings and it becomes more and more challenging as the numbers go up…” he remarked.
(For more information, visit the COVID-19 Community Level Data Reporting Interactive Map: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/community-level-covid-19-data-reporting.)
Mizikar said that early voting for the Nov. 3 general election will still be able to take place at Town Hall. Social distancing will be managed with markings on the floor; one-way traffic will proceed to the Town Clerk’s office then into the old selectmen’s room to vote. People will exit through the door by the Building Inspector’s office and hand sanitizer will be placed throughout the building.
For more information visit
https://shrewsburyma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8341/Early-Voting-By-Mail-or-In-Person
