Hopkinton Health Department director Shaun McAuliffe provided an update during the Select Board’s Tuesday night Zoom meeting, indicating that he continues to be in regular contact with Golden Pond assisted living facility, where a number of residents tested positive for COVID-19.

McAuliffe indicated that as of Tuesday there were 55 active cases at Golden Pond, although “the majority of residents are asymptomatic.”

He added that at Fairview Estates, a retirement living community on East Main Street, there was one case but the individual has recovered.

His department now is starting to plan for the next phase of the pandemic, with businesses starting to reopen.

While the state implemented an order effective Wednesday that all people must wear face coverings in public when social distancing is not possible, Hopkinton issued a similar order that went into effect two days earlier.

McAuliffe said if someone is out for a walk or run and won’t come in contact with others, a face covering is not required. But if, for example, they go to a park and there are a lot of people around, a covering should be worn.

“We ask that you have a face covering with you at all times when you leave your home,” McAuliffe stated. “Be prepared to use it when social distancing becomes difficult or when entering an interior space that is open to the public.”

Hopkinton’s latest update indicates there have been 105 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 65 active cases, 30 recoveries and 10 deaths.

While health officials have predicted the state is at the end of the expected surge in cases, McAuliffe said he does not anticipate an immediate decline in the town’s weekly caseloads, due in part to many residents serving on the front line.

“We expect that we will continue to see 1-5 cases per week, at least for the short term,” he said.

Overall, McAuliffe said he was pleased with how the town has handled the pandemic.

“I think we have a lot to be proud of in the community about how we’ve come together,” he said. “We’ve broken down a lot of these silos and implemented what I would call a very successful plan and strategy. And we’re only improving upon it. So I think we as a community have a lot to be proud of, and as a municipal government association we have a lot to be proud of in the way we’ve come together and implemented these new practices.”

For more from Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, click here for an update on the Main Street Corridor Project and here for an update on the date of the Town Election.