'Our Goal Is To Educate People': Swampscott Director Of Health

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — In a town the size of Swampscott it takes only a handful of positive coronavirus cases to have drastic ramifications.

Two weeks ago, the town looked like it was doing fairly well in its battle to raise public consciousness about the virus and keep infections lower as it was considered a "low-risk" community in state metrics, with only five positive cases reported over the previous two weeks.

Yet, when the state released its latest metrics last Thursday, that number jumped to 16 – putting Swampscott in the "high-risk" category, and putting it at risk of increased business restrictions potential fully remote schooling if it remains in that range.

With a small sample size such as Swampscott, the jump reinforces that it can only take one party, one family, one small outbreak to affect the lives of nearly everyone in town.

"That's why everybody in public health is nervous when Thanksgiving comes up," Swampscott Director of Public Health Jeffrey Vaughan told Patch Wednesday.

The difference between Thanksgiving and holidays over the summer, and even Halloween trick-or-treating, is that it brings people from different households together indoors where it is believed the virus can spread much more effectively than outdoors.

Vaughan said the hope in Swampscott is that people will keep any Thanksgiving get togethers to small family units, but the advice on that holiday has greater implications when it comes to living everyday lives indoors once it gets too cold to be outdoors this winter.

Under new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on the virus, "close personal contact" no longer means within 10 or 15 feet for 15 consecutive minutes in a row. It has been revised to define it as within 10 or 15 for 15 minutes over the course of 24 hours.

But a closer look at that revision reveals that it essentially means the virus is spreadable even in short bouts of close contact with someone who is infected.

"Basically, it comes down to keeping as many people away from a person who has contracted the virus as possible," Vaughan said.

And, since those infected are often asymptomatic and don't know they are infected, it means in the indoor, colder months keeping as many people from having close contact with as many other people, in general.

"You should realize what it means to be a close contact," Vaughan said. "Realize that accumulates over time and move away. If you don't want to be a close contact of someone, that's what you have to do."

It's essentially been the same message public health officials have repeated for eight months since the onset of the pandemic in March. But public health officials have urged in recent weeks — as virus rates have steadily risen across the state and the nation — that just because people are tired of hearing it doesn't mean they can stop doing it without risking widespread outbreaks.

"We have patience levels too," Vaughan said. "Our goal is to educate people as much as possible and it's frustrating when they don't take that advice. But we just have to keep plugging our way through this until we can end this pandemic."

Vaughan said he believes trick-or-treating can be done fairly safely this weekend if those going out and those handing out candy adhere to some key guidelines.

"Doing it correctly is going out with your family and not crowding at someone's doorstep," he said. "If you are handing out candy, you don't want kids in your doorway all taking candy together. You can be in your doorway with the candy outside where you can see the kids in their costumes and alert them to only take one piece."

The biggest concern for Vaughan, as has been echoed in many public health circles, is the potential impact of indoor Halloween parties.

"(Avoiding close contact) is difficult to do in the home," Vaughan said. "That's why you hear there is a lot of virus transmission in there."

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