GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Public Health Director Karin Carroll wish to provide residents with an update regarding rising positive case numbers of COVID-19 in the community.
According to the public health data released on Thursday, Nov. 19, Gloucester’s designation has remained “green,” however the number of positive cases in the city continues to rise. Residents are urged to continue to practice social distancing, wear face coverings in public and limit their interactions with anyone who lives outside of their household.
As of Wednesday, Nov. 18, there were 48 active, positive cases of COVID-19 in Gloucester.
Since the pandemic began, there have been 518 confirmed positive cases of the virus in the community and 57 probable cases. There have been 26 COVID-19 related deaths in Gloucester, and 444 people have recovered.
Residents should continue to wear face coverings at all times while in public — indoors and outside — as well as practice social distancing and avoid gatherings. Residents are also encouraged to regularly wash their hands, and avoid touching their faces in order to reduce the risk of virus spread.
“While we haven’t reached a medium or high risk designation from the state — yet — our positive case numbers are rising and we are urging residents to double down on precautions to stay healthy,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “We strongly advise against holding social gatherings with multiple households next week — please keep your Thanksgiving celebrations small and limit them to your own household. We want everyone to enjoy the holiday, but please, be safe and responsible.”
Massachusetts travel restrictions require that anyone visiting Massachusetts from states other than Hawaii or Vermont either quarantine for 14 days upon arrival or produce a negative PCR test result from a sample taken within 72 hours of arrival. Visitors from Maine or New Hampshire arriving after 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, are subject to the quarantine and testing restrictions. All travelers arriving from states designated as high risk by the commonwealth, including Massachusetts residents returning home, must also fill out a travel form. For more information, click here.
“We cannot stress this enough: the best course of this action this year is to celebrate Thanksgiving with those you live with and/or hold a virtual celebration with other friends and family,” Carroll said. “This isn’t the time to be having a large indoor meal with a group of people you don’t see regularly– it simply isn’t safe.”
Residents are reminded that the state has limited indoor, residential gatherings to 10 people and outdoor, residential gatherings to 25 people. All gatherings are further required to end by 9:30 p.m.
The City of Gloucester encourages residents to review additional guidance for the upcoming holiday on its website here.
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