Mayor Update

Transcript (~7 min @ 1:42:37)

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▶ 1:42:25 Christopher Cinella: Tramontozzi i didn't catch the second second by councillor eccles all those in favor all right any opposed all right this motion moves to recommendation for full board thank you thank Thank you for coming. Do we have a motion to adjourn?

▶ 1:42:38 Speaker 3: Make a motion to adjourn.

▶ 1:42:39 Speaker 1: Motion to adjourn.

▶ 1:42:43 Speaker 9: Is it indulgent just to talk a little bit

▶ 1:42:48 Speaker 4: about the latest information that we have about COVID-19?

▶ 1:42:52 Paul Brodeur: Sure. Thank you again for your indulgence. I'm sorry I show up at every meeting. And when I said during the campaign that I would be communicating, I thought I'd be communicating about a range of subjects, not just public health or COVID-19 and I want to stress as much as I can that this is a rapidly changing situation and that folks need to stay up to date through the website and the other channels that the means of communication the city has made available the reason why I say that is because I just got an inquiry about an email that set out a you know a particular thing the city was doing and someone said, that doesn't make any sense based on what you put out. I said, well, it was true when we put it out because that email went out to someone at 9.30 this morning and things changed from, you know, I think in the afternoon around that particular piece of the puzzle. So folks really need to help us by staying up on things. And I know it's been challenging for the administration, for the schools, for our employees, for you guys, and most importantly to to our residents it affects your home life your work life education recreation all those things this morning i had an opportunity to participate in a meeting led by mayor walsh of boston and mayor curtatone of somerville of essentially a gathering of mostly metro mayors and some town administrators and folks like that and they what was made available to us were some of the leading public health experts from the united states and italy and china to give us some insights about their experience and i'm not here to scare anyone i want to make that clear we are we are well positioned to deal with this but they did stress the need for among other things social distancing that is why the chamber is set up the way it is today and that will drive continue to drive decisions that we make going forward well so what we have done today again this is with an eye towards not just preventing but mitigating or containing spread that those are the real focuses of the public health community today we have cancelled as I think you all know a wide variety of public meetings and opportunities the schools will be closing at noon tomorrow for aggressive cleaning the senior center is closed i bring that up because i want folks to recognize that some of our city departments you might have an idea of what they do but they do but they kind of do more one of the things that the closure of the senior center impacts is the ability of folks that rely on them for meals to get them and i want to assure the council that we have a plan in place working with mystic valley elder services to do our best to make sure that there is continuity there while the senior center will be closed to the public it will be staffed so in the event that folks don't get the message certainly there'll be ability to take phone calls and guide people through whatever problems they may face we will continue to provide transportation in a somewhat restricted way for folks for seniors that need access to routine medical appointments we're keeping the library open but are closing uh or eliminating all the programming that um that just like anything else may change um very rapidly depending on what our best information is um and that is going to keep up the the city rem the city hall remains open and we are at the service of the public we did put out some communication a little bit earlier today saying that while we will be open obviously the the best thing you can do in terms of social distancing is not to come here if you don't have to and we tried to remind folks of some of the services that might that are available either online or by phone so you can avoid a trip in here unless it's unless it's absolutely necessary and we will continue to update as we go along one thing that was brought up by some of the public health experts is to the best of your ability this goes to every one of us in the public there is good information out there and there is misinformation out there and one example the head of the division of partners that essentially deals partners health care that deals with this kind of stuff said there there is a myth or rumor circulating out there that this virus releases a neurotoxin that will kill you that's an extreme example but I would really urge people to the extent they're looking for information respectfully suggest that Facebook or Twitter or the like may be right but the best thing to do is check with the CDC through their website or through the Department of Public Health through their website and if you still have questions about that you can check in with our health director of the Board of Health please do your best to educate yourself because the only way we're going to be able to manage this is if again we are respectful professional uh compassionate and empathetic and we will continue to try to do that that having said i will probably every time i talk to you about this return to the basics and i almost don't need to write them down anymore you got to wash your hands soap and warm water do your best it's almost impossible to not touch your eyes nose or mouth clean things that are frequently touched that's what we're doing in the schools and in our public spaces to the best we can with household cleaning sprays those kinds of things cover your mouth cough in your mouth like this when you're inclined to do that and perhaps most importantly if you are sick do not come to work sometimes i understand that is easier said than done and that there can be obstacles for families depending on your circumstances to make that to make that work but you still have to do it it's a matter again it's a matter of not just your health but the the healthier friends neighbors and co-workers and to the again that is a step towards containing this and mitigating it and make it making it easier on us all as a community to get through so we're going to keep plugging away we appreciate your interest in your diligence and your cooperation in accommodating a meeting such as this and in the format that we that we need to pursue it right now obviously the um me and my staff are available for any questions you may have please do your best to keep up to date with the information that the city or the cdc or dph puts up and that's that thanks guys thank you mayor broder thank you for the update here we had