BROOKLINE — Town Administrator Mel Kleckner and Director of Public Health Dr. Swannie Jett would like to inform residents that the Brookline COVID-19 Call Center and email will be demobilized as of 5 p.m. today, Friday, June 19.
The town has staffed the call center Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. since mid-March for residents to ask non-medical questions specific to COVID-19 in Brookline. That service will end today at 5 p.m. due to a decreasing number of calls and emails.
Residents seeking answers to Brookline-specific medical or public health inquiries should continue to contact the Brookline Department of Public Health at 617-730-2300. All other calls should be directed to the appropriate department based on the question or complaint. A departmental directory can be found here.
General COVID-19 questions that are not specific to the Town of Brookline should continue to be directed to the state 211 line.
From when it opened in mid-March to today, the call center received and responded to 904 calls and 336 emails. Call and email demand has declined in recent weeks, prompting town leaders to wind down its operations today.
BrooklineCOVID19.com continues to be updated regularly with the most current information related to the novel coronavirus.
“At the outset of this crisis, we knew it was going to be critical to give residents and other town stakeholders an interactive local resource to have their needs met during a constantly-evolving situation,” Dr. Jett said. “We hope that the call center has been beneficial to residents as the COVID-19 crisis has developed, and we’re grateful to our whole community for their patience throughout this ongoing situation, as well as their cooperation with public health guidelines. As we start to navigate the more advanced phases of reopening, we believe now is the right time to demobilize and direct residents to the individual departments that can best respond to their needs.”
The town will re-evaluate the need for call center services on a periodic basis and the call center can be reopened in the future if the situation warrants.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 383 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Brookline residents.
###