COVID-19 Update for 5/23/2020, Memorial Day Information, and Free Testing

Below is a message from the Somerville, MA Community Alert System. Sign up to receive these updates by email, text, or phone.

Dear Community Members,

Here is a COVID-19 update for Saturday, May 23.

Please also be sure to check somervillema.gov/covid19 for information and resources that are updated frequently.

Latest News

• Case Counts: As of 9:30 a.m., May 23, a total of 841 Somerville residents have tested positive for COVID-19, 628 have since recovered, and sadly there have been 23 deaths. See more Somerville case data on the City’s COVID-19 Dashboard. Please note these are known cases, and it is assumed there are more cases -- both symptomatic and asymptomatic -- that have not been officially detected.
• Memorial Day Observance: Please join us on Monday to reflect on and honor our fallen service members, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, and to recognize our Gold Star families and their continued sacrifice. Due to COVID-19, our Memorial Day remembrance ceremonies and observances must shift to safer activities. Please see our social media feeds and somervillema.gov on Monday for video messages from Mayor Curtatone, Council President Matt McLaughlin, and our new Director of Veterans Services, Ted Louis-Jacques. They will lay flowers and wreaths at Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Broadway in a recorded non-public ceremony. Street pole banners will also be hung by DPW along the usual parade route. To better connect us all to the meaning of this important day, City Cable TV (RCN channels 13 and 613 and Comcast 22) will air this year’s ceremony and run footage all day of Memorial Day parades and ceremonies from previous years.
• Memorial Day reminder: Because of the Monday holiday, trash and recycling collection will be on a one-day delay all week and there will be no street sweeping on Monday, May 25.
• Memorial Day safety: The MA Department of Transportation is advising the public to stay home this Memorial Day Weekend and comply with the Governor’s Safer at Home Advisory, which among other guidance, states “all residents should leave home only for healthcare, worship and permitted work, shopping and outdoor activities.” The virus is still with us. Please read the Safer at Home guidance and heed it to protect yourself, your loved ones, our nurses, EMTs, and doctors, as well as the broader community. The Somerville Board of Health strongly urges that you avoid socializing with anyone other than persons who live in your household. If you do choose to gather with others, please review these vital tips on how to reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission.
• Street sweeping reminder: Street sweeping began on Monday and parking enforcement will begin the week of June 1. Until June 1, we are asking for voluntary compliance. On Monday, June 1, parking control officers will start issuing tickets for not observing street sweeping rules. Street sweeping allows more debris to be cleaned off the streets, which means it doesn’t end up in the storm drains, which can cause flooding. Make sure you know where you can park by checking out the signs on your street and visiting somervillema.gov/sweeper. Policies are being developed to account for persons ordered to isolate due to COVID-19 who are thus unable to move their car. More to come.
• Somerville’s first Shared Streets route opening soon: The first Shared Streets pilot route will be open later this month. It will connect the Winter Hill and East Somerville neighborhoods and include our food distribution sites at the Healey and East Somerville schools; the Project Soup Food Pantry at 165 Broadway, Stop and Shop, and the Capuano School. More routes will open throughout the summer. This is a pilot, so City Mobility staff will take time to evaluate each route and make changes as needed. Shared Streets restrict vehicle through-traffic - but still allow driving access for abutters, police, fire, ambulance, and service traffic such as delivery, mail, and street-sweeping. The accessible routes are on low-volume roads and quieter side streets to allow pedestrians, cyclists, persons who use wheelchairs, and others to also use the road to travel. Movable barriers and signage will be set up for safety. To see a full map of planned routes and a schedule, visit somervoice.somervillema.gov/covid19mobility. As routes are implemented, feedback can be submitted on the SomerVoice site.
• Free COVID-19 testing: To sign up for free COVID-19 testing for Somerville residents, call 617-665-2928, Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. The more people that get tested, the safer our reopening will be. You do not need to have symptoms or a doctor’s referral.

Today’s Assistance Tip: Connect with Others Through Somerville Public Library Program

If you’re looking for some fun things to do or ways to virtually connect with others who share your interests, check out the Somerville Public Library’s Virtual Programs page to see which of your favorite SPL programs are happening digitally. Some of the offerings include ESL conversations, book groups, story times, citizenship classes, and poetry discussions.

Today’s Public Health Tip: COVID-19 communication help for deaf and hard of hearing individuals
The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has provided a COVID-19 communications card to help hard of hearing and Deaf individuals and patients communicate with hospital staff, medical personnel, first responders, and service providers.

--Thank You, Somerville. #InThisTogether--

For more information and regular COVID-19 updates, visit www.somervillema.gov/COVID19 and sign up for City alerts at www.somervillema.gov/Alerts. We urge you to sign up for every alert method you are able to receive: phone call, text, email. Also, follow FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.