Coronavirus: Danvers Public Schools, Town Offices Closed

DANVERS, MA—Due to continued coronavirus concerns, town offices will be closed through March 20, according to Steve Bartha, the town's manager.

Public schools will now be closed through March 27. School officials made the announcement Friday afternoon.

A skeleton crew at town hall will be available to answer the phones at 978-777-0001, but the building will be locked, Bartha said in a statement to residents. The Selectmen’s Budget Hearing scheduled for Saturday, March 14 has also been postponed to a future date.

"If it becomes clear by next week that lengthier closures are necessary, we will communicate that widely prior to Friday, March 20," Bartha said.

Public safety, public health, public utilities and some social services, like food delivery and grab-and-go lunch bags for students in need will still be available, Bartha said.

"We need to take this seriously, and we are, but we also should not panic. There are simple, scientifically validated steps and actions we can take to ensure that when the virus does impact someone we know, our local healthcare professionals will have the capacity to receive presumptive patients and treat them accordingly," Bartha said.

On Thursday, Bartha said there was one presumptive case of coronavirus in Danvers; however, according to a recent tweet by the town, the test has come back next negative.

According to Bartha, for residents to easily stay informed, they should consider signing up for emergency notifications on the town website or follow the town on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @townofdanvers or go to the town’s public health webpage.

"We will do our best to get the right information out at the right time, but I can promise that some of our residents will find it to be either too slow, too fast, too much or not enough," he said.

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