All MA residents now ordered to wear face coverings, Lynn COVID-19 updates, & more | May 1, 2020

Tune in at 3pm every weekday on our Government Channel or Facebook page for an update from city officials. Past updates can be found by clicking here. At 2pm & 8pm we are also airing Gov. Baker’s press conferences.

See other COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.
See our running list of announcements for Lynn by visiting bit.ly/LynnCOVID19.

MA residents required to wear face coverings

Today Gov. Charlie Baker signed an executive order requiring residents to wear masks or face coverings in public when they can’t socially distance, starting May 6. Baker also discouraged residents from using medical grade masks, so that workers on the front lines of the pandemic can have better access.

This order applies to all customers & workers of businesses & other organizations opened to the public. This executive order does include a few exemptions, such as children under the age of 2 & those unable to wear a mask due to medical conditions or other MA Dept. of Public Health exemptions.

The Commonwealth has seen some positive signs in the fight against COVID-19, with only 6% of cases requiring hospitalization as of yesterday & 3 days straight of decline. There are currently 62,000+ cases of COVID-19 with 3,562 deaths.

You can read the full press release from the state of MA by clicking here.

The CDC released information on how to create your own face coverings at home in a few easy steps, which you can find by clicking here.

If you missed it, on Wednesday the Lynn Public Schools announced virtual graduations for 2020. You can read more about that by clicking here.

In regards to broadcasting them, we were told that all school TV departments are producing their virtual graduations and LETV will air them. LETV’s playback system will be replaced shortly, & if their replacement hasn’t been completed by then we will be broadcasting them.

St. Mary’s in Lynn will provide us a recorded virtual graduation at some point in June. We expect to broadcast NSCC’s virtual graduation as well, but are awaiting further information.

Coloring books from RAW

Recently the staff & students at Raw Art Works created coloring books for the community. According to RAW “the staff and kids were given the challenge to create images of diverse cultural ideas that could help you, our RAW Artist,and the community around us, as we all start to reframe the moments we are living in now.”

There are currently 2 editions of the “When the sun comes up, be creative” available online. Vol. 1 is available by clicking here & Vol. 2 is available by clicking here.

The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases has risen to 1,874, 250 have recovered, and 49 Lynn residents have died.

The City of Lynn is working closely with North Shore Medical Center and Lynn Community Health Center to distribute care kits to high-risk Lynn residents. The kits include basic educational materials, masks, sanitizing supplies and other personal care items. Over 10,000 care kits have been distributed over the last two weeks to the following locations: Salvation Army, My Brother’s Table, Greater Lynn Senior Services, Lynn Economic Opportunity, Lynn School Department Grab & Go Lunch Program (English, Classical, Tech & Marshall), Bridgewell, Centerboard, New American Center, and Lynn Housing Authority.

Mayor McGee is announcing the formation of the Food Security Task Force. The objectives will be to centralize the ongoing work of the current food distribution services in the City, identify the existing gaps, and strategically meet the needs of the community. Recognizing that the community’s needs will continue to grow, the task force will work together to fill those needs through policy creation, funding, and programing through the future phases of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).