Edgartown Town Hall Closes Due To Coronavirus

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA—Edgartown Town Hall, which reopened to the public in September, has returned to its appointment-only status as Martha's Vineyard continues to experience an increase in positive cases.

Residents who want to make an appointment should contact town employees directly. Those who enter the building will be required to fill out a Covid-19 screener.

"Out of an abundance of caution, as well as the current metrics and what's going on outside, we decided to revert back to the town hall being appointment-only," said town administrator James Hagerty.

“In light of everything going on, I think it’s the best for the town, after speaking with the board of health, to revert back to the posture we had several months ago and see how everything progresses over the next weeks."

According to the latest statistics from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Edgartown has had a total of 37 covid cases, 16 of which were reported in the two weeks leading up to November 12.

"The number of cases is growing too fast," said a November 13 press release from the Martha's Vineyard Regional Emergency Management Association. "We must all take this pandemic seriously. We have not had to resort to enforcement but may have to if people don't comply and the number of infections continue to rise."

Edgartown is the first town on the island to announce that its town hall is closing again. The other town halls on the island reopened in August and September and have not announced any plans to revert to an appointment-only status.