Coronavirus: Easton Closes Public Schools, Town Offices

EASTON, MA — Easton town and school officials have closed town offices for one week, and Easton Public Schools through at least March 27, as a preventive measure amid the coronavirus pandemic. Easton has also canceled all programs at the Council on Aging and the Recreation Department.

Officials said that as of Friday there are no known cases of a positive coronavirus test in the town. Easton officials said they took the steps "while we await clear guidance on a statewide level."

LIST: All school and college closings across Massachusetts.

Town offices on Elm Street and Frothingham Hall on Barrows Street will be closed to the public starting on Monday. Essential administrative offices will operate with minimal staff in order to maintain core services. Staff will be reachable by phone and will return time-sensitive voicemail as quickly as possible, but response time will likely be slower than usual.

The Department of Public Works will continue to provide services, but offices will not be open to the public.

Only essential boards and committees preparing for town meetings or that have statutory or regulatory responsibilities to fulfill will take place, and will operate in accordance with the Governor's Emergency Open Meeting Law. The Easton Emergency Management Leadership Team continues to meet on a regular basis and will continue to closely monitor regional, state and national developments with COVID-19. Other potential mitigation activities are being considered based on the daily information that is being received from federal and state officials.

Gov. Charlie Baker prohibited many large gatherings Friday as the number of positive tests of the new coronavirus continued to increase across the state. The Department of Public Health said there are 123 cases as of Friday afternoon, 15 more than Thursday's numbers.

Ninety-four of the cases are related to the Biogen conference in
February. The updated numbers came hours after Baker said Massachusetts is prohibiting most gathering of more than 250 people in the latest drastic measure to slow the spread of COVID-19.

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