Select Board & Board of Health Issue Emergency Order #3

SWAMPSCOTT SELECT BOARD AND SWAMPSCOTT BOARD OF HEALTH ADOPT ORDER REQUIRING PUBLIC TO WEAR MASKS WHEN IN STORES AND OTHER INDOOR COMMON AREAS AND FOR RETAIL EMPLOYERS TO SCREEN EMPLOYEES FOR COVID SYMPTOMS

SWAMPSCOTT – APRIL 10, 2020 - During an Emergency Meeting of the Swampscott Board of Health and the Swampscott Select Board on Friday afternoon, the Town of Swampscott strengthened its COVID-19 response by issuing an ORDER requiring that all Swampscott residents wear a mask any time they go into a store or other indoor common areas.

As COVID-19 cases continue to increase in Swampscott, Swampscott Board of Health Chair, Marianne Hartmann, RN, MPH, stressed the need to intensify all measures to help stop the spread of the virus. “Approximately 25% of those infected with COVID-19 do not show symptoms so it is critical to take these measures to protect not only yourself, but also those around you.  We are amplifying our social distancing efforts by requiring all Swampscott Residents to wear a mask,” said Hartmann. 

“Masks help prevent people who are ill from getting others sick,” said Jeff Vaughan, Swampscott’s Public Health Director. “However, they are not foolproof, so it’s important that you still maintain a distance of 6 feet between you and others around you. We must also ask ourselves if we really need to leave our house.  If we don’t really, truly need to leave our home, then we shouldn’t.”

“Swampscott is listening to and following our Public Health professionals,” said Peter Spellios, Chair of Swampscott’s Select Board. “The best way to protect yourself and others is to stay home, but if you must leave your home to go to a store or if you live in a multifamily building with common areas, then you need to protect yourself and protect others by covering your mouth and nose with a mask.

“These masks do not need to be a surgical or N-95 mask – we need those for our health care workers and first responders,” continued Marianne Hartmann. “We have guidance on universal masks on our website, including instructions on how to easily make your own mask using materials you have at home.  We also feel it is important to stress that if you wear gloves, please dispose of them properly and help us keep Swampscott safe.”

“Wearing a mask will help us cut down the possibility that we might be infecting an innocent essential worker, like the grocery store cashier, a pharmacist, or someone working at an essential business,” said Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “These incredible people are keeping us alive by supporting the services and supplies we need during this crisis. This week, a local grocery store employee died from COVID-19 and we owe it to these heroic employees and their families to do everything we can to keep them safe. Right now, for the next few weeks, this means wearing a mask.”

The Order adopted by the Select Board and Board of Health also requires retailers deemed essential by the State to screen its employees prior to starting work shifts.  Employees with a temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit will be unable to work until it is determined the temperature is not related to COVID-19. 

For up-to-the-minute information on Swampscott’s COVID-19 news, please go to http://www.swampscottma.gov/covid-19-updates.

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