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Town of Reading i t 4'. IN r F R K
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Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Board of Health
Date: 2021-01-07 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Location:
Address: Session: Open Session
Purpose: Open Session - Remote Meeting Version: Final
Attendees: Members - Present:
Chair Richard Lopez, Vice Chair Kerry Dunnell, Paula Curren; Associate
Members: Geri Cramer, Kevin Sexton
Members - Not Present:
Others Present:
Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris, Town Manager Bob LeLacheur, Assistant
Town Manager lean Delios, Interim Health Director Peter Mirandi, Public
Health Nurse Shuang Shen, lack Devir
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jacquelyn LaVerde
Topics of Discussion:
This meeting was held remotely via Zoom.
Chair Richard Lopez called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm and reviewed the evening's
agenda.
Appointment of Public Health Nurse:
Dr. Lopez introduced the new Public Health Nurse, Shuang Shen. Ms. Shen shared her
background as a graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy with a B.S. in nursing.
She has worked as a rehab nurse for two years and worked as an immunization nurse in the
greater Boston area this Flu season. She also has experience as a pharmacy technician and
worked as a nutritionist providing nutrition counseling to over 600 patients. As a resident of
Reading she is eager to provide Public Nursing services to the community. The Board
welcomed Ms. Shen to the staff.
On a motion by or Lopez, and seconded by Ms. Curren, the Board of Health voted
3-0-0 to appoint Shuang Shen as an agent of the Board of Health.
Roll call vote: Paula Curren - Yes, Kerry Dunnell - Yes, Richard Lopez - Yes.
Public Comment:
There was no comment from the public.
COVID-19 Case Count Updates:
Public Health Nurse Kristine Harris presented the latest data for Reading.
• Total Cases as of January 61h: 1,130
• Total Deaths: 41
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• Transferred Cases: 8
- • Current Active Cases: 302
There are 30 current cases in the schools including students, staff, and teachers.
Artis Senior Living currently has 8 resident and 3 staff cases. The facility has mobile testing
scheduled every Tuesday and Friday throughout the month. The Nursing Director at the
facility confirmed that the COVID vaccine will be delivered via Walgreens on January 19th
and February 9th.
Current clusters include: 6 Reading residents affiliated with a Woburn Church; a barber shop
on Main Street is closed for cleaning; and 2 positive students on the girls' basketball team
with 14 other students under quarantine.
There have been between 25-35 new cases daily. The Contact Tracing Collaborative at the
state is available to help, but the hope is to keep the contact tracing internal, as the OTC's
call back time is longer than on the local level. Ms. Shen will be training on Maven next
week and will be able to assist with the calls.
The severity of symptoms varies, but the amount of hospitalizations is minimal with most
being discharged within two days. The most frequent cause of cases seems to be household
transmission.
Alcohol Licensina:
Town Manager Bob Lel-acheur was present because a local convenience store owner made a
request to the Select Board to consider changes to liquor licensing that will allow him to sell
beer and wine. The Select Board is seeking feedback from the Coalition for Prevention and
Support, the Police Department, and the Board of Health on the proposed changes to
alcohol licensing. It is within the purview of the Board of Health to set conditions. The
issue will be discussed at the next Select Board meeting with Town Counsel present.
Dr. Lopez had conducted some internet searches and shared studies he found from a public
health perspective. The research was varied, but the common finding was that density of
liquor licenses in a geographical area seems to correlate with alcohol consumption, violent
crime, domestic violence, and auto accidents. He noted three take-aways from his research
and volunteered to write his thoughts in a brief memo to the Select Board:
1) Because Reading is a suburban community as opposed to rural, people do not need
to travel long distances to get alcohol.
2) Availability at any convenience store or gas station provides excessive access for
youth, which could be risky here in Reading.
3) Alcohol licenses given to food establishments seem to have less impact on public
health than sales for offsite consumption. Reasons could be the bartender is
responsible in serving, or the crowd is older and more responsible.
The Board agreed that there is not a compelling reason to allow convenience stores and gas
stations to sell any alcohol. Adding availability at such locations could have an impact on
the Health Division having to monitor a number of additional places. Because of the way
Reading handles new types of licenses under the home rule petition, there may be Flexibility
for adding select specialty stores or restaurants. Dr. Lopez agreed to send a memo to the
Select Board with his thoughts and feedback of the Board.
Review of COVID Guidelines for Open Air Ice Rinks:
A meeting had been scheduled on December 29th, 2020 to discuss the ice rinks, but due to
warm weather, the ice was not ready for use, so the discussion was deferred to the meeting
this evening. Since that time, the rinks did freeze enough that people began using them.
Dr. Lopez noted that he observed people using the rinks and that no one was wearing
masks.
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The Board reviewed the draft of the sign created by Mr. Mirandi and Recreation
Administrator Jenna Fiorente, and discussed some changes: make the lettering as big as
possible; change "Enforced by the Board of Health"to "Per Order of the Board of Health";
bold and underline "NO" for emphasis; Bullet point #1 - remove the number of persons
allowed and change to"refer to restrictions for groups limited by current state guidelines"
with a QR code that links to the State's latest guidance on outdoor gatherings; Bullet point
#2 - change"practicing" social distancing to "practice"; Bullet point #3 - change to"M
hockey games, practices, or scrimmages allowed"; update the contact information for
complaints to the SeeClickFix page on the Town website and select the "Parks/Fields"
category.
The signs will be 2-feet by 2-feet in dimension and there will be two signs placed at each
rink by DPW. Mr. Mirandi and Ms. Dunnell will work with Business Administrator Jayne
Wellman to post the notice on the Town website and social media. The public notice will
also be given to the local newspapers and cable outlets, and the Flyer sent to the schools to
be included with the Principals' newsletters and posted on bulletin boards.
Review of Minutes:
The Board reviewed the meeting minutes of December 17, 2020 and did not have any
comments.
On a motion by Dr. Lopez, and seconded by Ms. Curren, the Board of Health voted
3-0-0 to approve the meeting minutes of December 17, 2020.
Roll call vote: Paula Curren - Yes, Kerry Dunnell - Yes, Richard Lopez - Yes.
Health Division Staff Monthly Report:
Environmental
There were 250 permit renewals sent out, and 247 have been received back. Staff is
following up on the three delinquent permits.
The division is working on tracking the number of complaints by category.
Epidemiology
Ms. Harris continues to work on contact tracing and providing a breakdown of the raw data.
Emergency Preparedness
Work is being done to coordinate vaccines for First Responders. Distribution of the vaccine
is done regionally, and the depot for Region 3B, to which Reading belongs, is Andover.
Representatives from Andover will come to Reading for two days to train Reading's staff on
administering the vaccine, and to help vaccinate as many First Responders as possible. The
Town must first complete an agreement with Massachusetts Immunization Information
System (MIIS), then enroll in the Massachusetts COVID Vaccine Program (MCVP), then use
a new system called PrepMod to order the vaccine and schedule vaccinations.
COVID-19 Updates:
Ms. Dunnell highlighted discussions from the last two Incident Command Meetings
including: the passibility of testing in the schools; dispensing sites and vaccination clinics for
First Responders; aid and assistance to residents; and new guidance from the Governor
extending the restrictions to 25% occupancy limits for indoor spaces. There was a rally held
on the Town Common this past weekend where parents and students expressed their
disapproval of the cancellation of sports out of concern over COVID. There was a request to
host a 350-person bonfire for the senior class, but Command dismissed the request.
At the recent Select Board meeting, Mr. Lel-acheur shared a graph that showed that there
have been as many cases since Thanksgiving as there were from March through October.
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Reading Total COVID-19 Cases- Active,Cumulative,&
Increases
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There has not been much progress on testing in town because it is expensive. The priority
has been on vaccination, education, and contact tracing.
Mr. Mirandi stated that Command requested that the Health department intervene with
education for food establishments, as too many people seem to be piling into grocery
stores, restaurants, and box stores. A packet of information will be developed and delivered
to the establishments. Ms. Curren offered to help and will work with Health Agent Laura
Vlasuk and Health Inspector Daniel Markman on the project.
Next Agenda Plannina/Review:
Topics for the next meeting may include discussion of the internal assessment. Dr. Lopez
encouraged Board members to email him with other agenda topics.
On a motion by Ms. Curren, and seconded by Ms. Dunnell, the Board of Health
voted 3-0-0 to adjourn at 6:52 pm.
Roll call vote: Paula Curren - Yes, Kerry Dunnell - Yes, Richard Lopez - Yes.
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