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Hopkinton, MA
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Hopkinton, US
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Hopkinton COVID-19 update for May 29

by | May 29, 2020 | Featured Front Page, News

Editor’s note: This is the town of Hopkinton’s COVID-19 update for May 29.

COVID-19 Updates and Precautions
May 29 update

Previous updates and additional information and resources can be found here:
https://coronavirus-hopkintonma.hub.arcgis.com

While Town Hall and municipal buildings are physically closed to the public, ​we are open for business​. Many transactions can be completed online, and we are available via phone and email to assist during regular business hours. A full town directory can be ​found here​. A box at the front door of Town Hall may be used to drop off correspondence, applications, etc., and they may also be mailed or emailed.

As of May 28, Hopkinton’s Health Depa​rtment is reporting 116 total ​confirmed COVID-19 cases; eight of those cases are active, with 95 recoveries and 13 deaths. You can see historical tracking and updates on ​Hopkinton’s Community Impact Dashboard.

Annual Town Meeting – ​REMINDER
The Select Board voted at their May 19 meeting that Annual Town Meeting, which was previously delayed to June 22, be further delayed to a date to be determined. The currently proposed reschedule date is Sept. 21 — to be voted on at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting.

124th Boston Marathon To Be Held Virtually – ​NEW UPDATE
The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) has announced that the 124th Boston Marathon will be held as a virtual event, following Boston Mayor Martin Walsh’s cancellation of the marathon as a mass participation road running event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual Boston Marathon will be complemented by a series of virtual events throughout the second week of September. For more information, ​click here​.

Nationwide Unemployment Scam Targets Massachusetts Claimants – ​NEW UPDATE
Criminal enterprises in possession of stolen personal information from earlier national data breaches have been attempting to file large amounts of illegitimate unemployment claims through the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) system. This is part of a national unemployment fraud scheme. Individuals who believe they may have had a false unemployment claim filed using their identity are urged to utilize the Department of Unemployment Assistance fraud contact form at Mass.gov/unemployment-fraud​ or to call the DUA customer service department at 877-626-6800.

Hopkinton High School Seniors Parade – ​NEW UPDATE
Hopkinton residents should get out to see the ​FIRST-EVER ROLLING GRADUATION PARADE!

SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020
Starting at 1 p.m. over 300 cars will travel:

● Right out of the High School onto Hayden Rowe Street
● Left at the light onto Chestnut
● Left onto Ash (with another left to stay on Ash) up to Main St.
● Left onto Main Street through downtown.
● Right onto Wood Street
● Left onto Elm Street
● Left onto West Main Street
● Right onto Pleasant Street
● Right onto Hayden Rowe Street

A few safety reminders: Please remember that after the event there should be no congregating of students. Spectators should remember to wear your masks and keep 6 feet of social distancing; remember that the majority of illness is spread through asymptomatic and presymptomatic contact. Please be cautious around the moving vehicles.

Parks/fields/playgrounds -​ NEW UPDATE
Under Phase 1 of Massachusetts Reopening Plan, town athletic fields are now open under the following guidelines:

●  Users should sanitize hands before and after play, not share equipment, and clean and wipe down equipment.
●  When engaged in play, users should avoid touching other users’ equipment in separate areas.
●  Users waiting to utilize a section or area of the field should wait outside the field of play until previous users have vacated the facility to ensure proper social distancing and prevent accidental contact of other users’ equipment.
●  Users should not engage in pickup games, organized games or tournaments.
●  Families living in the same residence may engage in field and park activities such as catch, Frisbee, picnics without face coverings and the use of social distancing if they can do so without engaging persons outside of their immediate family.

These fields include: Fruit Street athletic fields, Carrigan and EMC baseball fields, Daniel Shays, Emerald Hills, Pyne Field and Reed Park.

Playgrounds remain closed until further notice.

The school fields are to stay closed for the remainder of the school year. School fields will reopen, with limitations, after the last day of school, June 17.

Hopkinton Public Library – ​NEW UPDATE
We have been receiving many questions about when we will begin accepting returned items and offering curbside checkouts of library materials. These services will be at the top of our list once staff are back in the library building on a regular basis. However, planning may take some time. We do not anticipate being able to circulate physical items or accept returns until ​at least​ mid to late June.

If you have library materials at home, there is ​no need to worry about fines​! Due dates have automatically been extended to July 1 for anything that was due in mid-March or later. We will continue to extend due dates if needed. We will forgive any overdue fines that have accrued on returned materials for several weeks after we reopen the book drop.

In the meantime, we are still providing the same services that we have been offering throughout the building closure: assistance by chat, phone and e-mail; helpful resources through social media and on our website; electronic books, audiobooks, movies, magazines and newspapers; virtual events and presentations; and more.

If you have questions or need help, please feel free to reach out:

●  E-mail us at ​hopkintonlibrary@hopkintonma.gov​.
●  Leave a voicemail at 508-497-9777 and we will call you back as soon as we can.
●  Chat with a librarian from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday by going to ​our website​ and clicking the blue “speech bubble” icon near the top of the page.

We will share information about changes in library services in these townwide updates, as well as via our ​website​, ​Facebook wall​, ​Twitter page​ and ​eNewsletter​.

Reopening Massachusetts
Gov. Baker’s ​Reopening Advisory Board​ released a significant amount of new information and guidance on May 18. Some additional businesses are allowed to open ​during Phase 1, although specific standards must be met by these businesses prior to being allowed to reopen.

Businesses operating to provide essential services, as defined in the governor’s March 23 Executive Order, updated on March 31, April 28 and May 15, may remain open and have until May 25 to comply with these ​mandatory safety standards​. ​In addition to the mandatory safety standards, all businesses​ must meet these standards before reopening:

●  COVID-19 control plan template​ — Template that satisfies the written control plan requirement for self-certification
●  Compliance attestation poster​ — Poster that customer facing businesses are required to print, sign, and post in an area within the business premises that is visible to workers and visitors
●  Employer and worker posters​ — Posters that businesses can print and display within the business premises to describe the rules for maintaining social distancing, hygiene protocols, and cleaning and disinfecting.

When can my business reopen?
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/reopening-massachusetts

Hopkinton also posts frequently on social media. Our Twitter is the best place to keep up with all happenings Hopkinton. You don’t need an account to see our twitter feed: https://twitter.com/HopkintonMA

Complete list of Emergency Orders and Guidance from Mass.gov
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-state-of-emergency

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