Bedford Designated A 'Red' (High Risk) Community On Latest State Coronavirus Report

Press release from the Town of Bedford:

October 29, 2020

COVID-19 continues to be a serious public health threat. As of today, October 29, 2020, the Town of Bedford has been designated as a “red” community on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 map, which indicates the highest risk of COVID-19 community spread. Over the last 2 weeks, 19 new COVID-19 positive cases were identified in Bedford.

At the same time of this elevated risk designation, recently acquired contact tracing data supports the occurrence of in-school transmission of COVID-19 at Bedford High School, with many test results still pending. Due to the in-school transmission, pending test results of close contacts, several social gatherings among the BHS school community and their friends and families, Bedford High School will be transitioning from the Hybrid Model to the Full Remote Model beginning on Friday, October 30, 2020, with plans to transition back to the Hybrid Model on Friday, November 13, 2020. (Please see the attached message on this page from the Superintendent for details.)

Please note that state guidelines do not allow high school athletics to take place while the school is in the Full Remote Model. Therefore, there will be no high school athletic activities through at least Friday, November 13, 2020.

The Davis Elementary School, the Job Lane Elementary School, and the John Glenn Middle School will remain in the Hybrid Model.

Lastly, as Halloween approaches this Saturday, it is important to take precautions if you are celebrating. The safest place to be this Halloween weekend is at home. If you do go out, please remember to wear a multi-layer protective face covering even if your costume already includes a mask, limit social gatherings, and avoid indoor get-togethers.

Contact tracing and testing remain extremely important tools to combating the spread of COVID-19. If you receive a call from a contact tracer, please cooperate. This will help keep you and your community safe. If you need a test, the state’s Stop the Spread initiative offers a number of free testing sites. If being tested, the Board of Health urges you to get a PCR test, not a rapid test, due to the higher reliability of the PCR.

Finally, families should limit their number of social interactions. By doing so, this greatly reduces the number of people who could be infected by a COVID-positive individual.

We are all in this together. By taking these critical actions, we can help stop the spread of COVID-19.

This press release was produced by the Town of Bedford. The views expressed here are the author’s own.