Fenway Civic Association

Please find the latest updates from the City regarding COVID19.

COVID-19 CASES

ONE BOSTON DAY OBSERVANCES 

FIRST RESPONDERS CAVALCADE (TONIGHT AT 7:30PM)

NEW TESTING SITES

BOSTON RESILIENCY FUND UPDATE AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS 

CITY OF BOSTON COVID-19 OPERATIONS

BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CONSTRUCTION

HIRING BPHC POSITIONS

HELP COVID-19 EFFORTS

STAY INFORMED

 

COVID-19 CASES

The City of Boston has 4,528 positive cases of coronavirus (confirmed and presumptive) in Boston residents. So far, 616 of these 4,528 residents have fully recovered. There have been 105 COVID-19 related deaths in Boston residents. 

 

We urge everyone to stay home, avoid contact with others and observe the recommended curfew of 9pm-6am. If you must go outside for an essential task, we urge you to wear a face covering and stay 6ft away from others. Make sure to wash your hands often and clean and sanitize high-contact surfaces frequently. 

 

Starting today, the City will post race and ethnicity data for deaths, as well as for confirmed cases on boston.gov/coronavirus. As of yesterday, the data shows that of the 84 deaths in Boston, where race is known, 33% are white, 29% are black, 15% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 14% are Latino, and 9% are identified as other.

 

The COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force meets regularly. They are identifying key strategies to address inequities including expanded testng, data sharing and analysis, and strengthening neighborhood outreach. We are currently working with the Task Force on a webinar about COVID-19 in Haitian Creole. This is one of several efforts which allows us to reach more people, in more communities, and in more languages.

 

The Boston Public Health Commission will be providing the updated total of cases in Boston residents as it is received from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Information can be found at boston.gov/coronavirus or bphc.org.

 

Massachusetts has 29,918 positive cases of coronavirus (confirmed and presumptive) and 1,108 deaths reported at this time. Massachusetts has also tested 132,023 individuals to date. 

 

The City of Boston has two dashboards to provide statistics on COVID19 cases in Boston and throughout Massachusetts.  View them here.

 

The City of Boston has a free texting service to provide daily updates and information about the coronavirus. Text BOSCOVID to 99411 to opt-in for English. Language and communications access remains a priority for Mayor Walsh, so this text service is also available in Spanish, Haitan Creole, French, Cabo Verdean Creole, and Portuguese. 

• Text BOSEspanol for Spanish

• Text BOSKreyol for Haitian Kreyol

• Text BOSFrancais for French

• Text BOSKriolu for Cabo Verdean Creole

• Text BOSPortugues for Portuguese

Updates in 10 total languages can additionally be accessed through boston.gov/coronavirus#multilingual-help. Each language has its own page and hosts multilingual print materials distributed citywide. 

 

ONE BOSTON DAY OBSERVANCES

Today is the 7th anniversary of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. It also marks the 6th annual One Boston Day, a citywide day of reflection and service. 

• Mayor Walsh proclaimed April 15, 2020, a Citywide day of reflection, prayer, and unity. We hosted an interfaith prayer service online at 2pm

• At 2:49 pm, the time the first bomb exploded on Marathon Monday in 2013, Old South Church rang its bells in honor of those we lost.

• We ask that you stay home for our first responders, medical workers and other front line employees who cannot. If you must go out, it’s important to wear a face covering every time you leave the house. 

• We encourage you to spread goodwill through acts of kindness you can safely do from home, and invite you to share your reflections on the meaning of One Boston Day on social media with the hashtag #OneBostonDay.

 

FIRST RESPONDERS CAVALCADE

Tonight at 7:30pm, the Boston Police will lead a cavalcade to commemorate the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings. 

• The cavalcade will be led by Mobile Operations Patrol and will consist of police, fire and EMS in an effort to honor our first responders and medical personnel.

• Route will begin at BPD Headquarters and will travel past the following hospitals: Boston Medical Center, Tufts, Mass General Hospital, St Elizabeth’s, Beth Israel Deaconess, Children’s, Brigham & Women’s and the Carney.

  • Right Prentiss St, right Parker St, right Ruggles St, left Tremont St, right Melnea Cass Blvd, left Albany St, left Mass. Ave, (BMC), right Washington St, (Tufts), left on Stuart St, right on Charles St South, to Charles St, right on Beacon St, left on Bowdoin St, left on Cambridge St, right on North Grove St, (MGH), right on Parkman St, right on Blossom St, right Cambridge St, into Charles Cir. onto Charles St, right Beacon St, stay right to Commonwealth Ave, onto Brighton Ave, left on Cambridge St, left Washington St, (St Elizabeth’s), left on Commonwealth Ave, right on Brookline Ave, (BIDMC), left on Longwood Ave right into Children’s Hospital turnaround, right back onto Longwood Ave, right on Huntington Ave, right on Francis St, (BW), left on Brookline Ave, left on Riverway to Jamaica Way to Arborway to Morton St, left to Gallivan Blvd, right Dorchester Ave (Carney).

 

NEW TESTING SITES

• This week, Whittier Street Health Center in Roxbury began offering expanded scheduled testing to all. Please visit wshc.org for more info

• On Friday, the City of Boston will expand service at our testing site for first responders in East Boston to serve residents, as well.

• Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester will have expanded access to testing by this weekend.  

• In the coming days, Brigham and Women’s Hospital will expand services at their Hyde Park primary care site. They will be offering screening and testing, as well as other supports for people who are impacted by the coronavirus. Brigham and Women’s will also deploy resources to other high-risk communities in the weeks to come, responding to data about where testing is needed, and helping to prevent new hotspots from emerging in the future.

• Buoy Health has a free online screening resource, accessible at buoy.com/mass. This tool can help determine if you need to see a healthcare provider, and they can connect you to telehealth resources that are fully covered by health insurance.

 

BOSTON RESILIENCY FUND UPDATE AND OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS 

Mayor Walsh announced that the Boston Resiliency Fund raised over $25 million in one month, with $12 million already out the door to local organizations.

• Today we announced $1.7 million in new grants through the Boston Resiliency Fund.

• Latest grants will allow six more community health centers to expand testing: Mattapan; Whittier Street; Bowdoin Street; Codman Square; Uphams Corner; and DotHouse Health.

• Other grantees include: all of the family shelters in Boston; St. Francis House; RIZE Massachusetts; The Dimock; Elevate Boston and Families for Justice as Healing; Brazilian Worker Center; Urban Guild; Mujeres Unidas Avanzando; Boston Girls Empowerment Network; Project RIGHT; Voice of Tabernacle; and Mothers for Justice and Equality.

• The MAPFRE Foundation has committed to donating $500,000 to the City of Boston. We will use this money to buy critical supplies for medical professionals and first responders.

• Liberty Mutual has committed $15 million in grants to Boston nonprofits. The first installment will include $1 million each for BMC, Pine Street Inn, and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless; and $500,000 each to St. Francis House, Friends of Boston’s Homeless, and the Greater Boston Food Bank. This is in addition to $1 million that Liberty Mutual contributed to the Boston Resiliency Fund.

• We continue to accept donations at Boston.gov/BostonResiliencyFund.

 

CITY OF BOSTON COVID-19 OPERATIONS

All essential City of Boston services such as public safety, public health and maintenance operations including street cleaning, parks maintenance, trash and recycling pick up, etc will continue to be in operation.

• City Hall is open to the public only on Tuesdays and Fridays from 9 am.to 5 pm

• Public access to 1010 Massachusetts Avenue is limited to the Boston Public Health Commission on the 2nd Floor and residents must be accompanied when entering the building. 

• Everyone entering City Hall, including employees and members of the public, will be required to complete a self-screening for COVID-19 symptoms, including elevated temperature.

• Residents are required to make appointments if they need to visit any of the essential services offered out of City Hall, and can learn more about the status of city departments and hours of operation here. 

 

Residents are asked not to call 9-1-1 unless you are experiencing a medical emergency. All COVID-19 questions should be directed to the Mayor’s Health Line at 617-534-5050 or 311. The City and BPHC will continue to provide updated information on bphc.org and boston.gov/coronavirus.

 

BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

Boston Public Schools has issued a needs assessment survey to all students in the district. Families should respond to the survey to help us determine how to better support them throughout the school closure. The survey is available in 10 different languages. 

 

As of April 13th, Boston Public Schools has distributed 28,000 Chromebooks to students who do not have consistent access to a computer at home.

 

The City of Boston, in partnership with Project Bread, YMCA of Greater Boston, Boston Centers for Youth and Families, and other community organizations, has served over 161,000 meals since schools have closed, averaging 13,000 meals per day.

 

Free breakfast and lunch will be provided throughout the school closure including on April 20th (Patriots’ Day) and April 21st-24th (April vacation)

 

Meal Distribution sites near Fenway, Kenmore, and Mission Hill include the following:

BCYF Tobin at 1481 Tremont Street — 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM 
Boston Latin School at 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur — 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM

YMCA at 316 Huntington Ave — 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Blackstone Elementary School at 380 Shawmut Ave — 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Vibrant Boston Community Center at Lenox/Camden at 136 Lenox St — 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

 

More information about how we’re supporting Boston Public School families can be found here.

 

CONSTRUCTION

Due to the public health emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, Mayor Walsh announced that he is extending the City of Boston’s order to pause non-essential construction for City of Boston permitted sites. The initial order announced on March 16th was set for 14 days and will now continue until further notice. Additional information can be found here. 

 

HIRING BPHC POSITIONS

The City is actively hiring candidates for critical positions such as homeless counselors, recovery services, public health advocates and public safety officers. Please go to bphc.org for job listings.

 

HELP COVID19 EFFORTS

• Stay home. If you must go outside, practice physical distancing from others (6 feet apart); avoid crowded places.

• Wear a face covering if you absolutely must go outside. Face covers help reduce the risk of a person spreading the virus, especially if they are asymptomatic. Visit CDC guidelines on face coverings for more information and guidance. 

• Observe the recommended curfew for everyone in Boston except for essential workers to stay at home from 9 pm to 6 am daily 

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol; avoid shaking hands

• Cover your coughs and sneezes; clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces; and avoid close contact with people who are sick.

• If you think you might be sick, please call your doctor or 311 to be connected to the Mayor’s Health Line 617-534-5050. Buoy Health has created a free online diagnostic tool which screens for COVID19 at buoy.com/mass.

• Donate supplies to first responders here

• Donate to the City of Boston Resiliency Fund here

• Volunteer with the City of Boston here 

• Fill out the 2020 Census. The Census informs how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years. It’s more critical than ever to ensure that all Bostonians are counted. 

 

STAY INFORMED

Receive the latest COVID19 info from reliable sources. Visit: bphc.org/coronavirus; boston.gov/coronavirus; mass.gov/2019coronavirus. Call: 311 or 211

 

We will keep you informed as we receive updates. Stay healthy and stay safe.