LYNN NEWS ROUND-UP
FEBRUARY 8, 2021
See our COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.
The City of Lynn is currently in Phase 3 Step 1 of the MA Reopening Plan.Click here for more information.
A vaccination site has opened at Lynn Tech for residents
of Lynn & Nahant. Read more by clicking here.
COVID-19 testing in Lynn this week
The City of Lynn was selected to be a part of the state’s “Stop the Spread” Initiative back in July. Please note that the COVID-19 testing sites located at Lynn English High School and behind the Western Avenue Fire Station are now closed. Other COVID-19 testing sites have been set up and are available for residents to visit. More information about testing is below.PROJECT BEACON
Located at 398 Blossom St. in Lynn
The City of Lynn has been selected as one of four communities across the Commonwealth for a COVID-19 express testing site through at least March 31st. The site will be run by Project Beacon which specializes in high-volume appointment only testing.
The site will be located at the Blossom Street Extension parking lot, commonly known as the Lynn Ferry Terminal, and will have the capacity to perform up to 2,000 tests per day once the site. Residents will be able to schedule their test appointment in advance, drive up to the site at their assigned time, be tested from the comfort of their car, and receive their results within 24 hours. There will be no pedestrian, walk-up access allowed at this site. For all Massachusetts residents, there is no cost for this test, no health insurance is required, and you will not be asked about your immigration status.
Residents can create an account, make appointments, and view their test results all through one, online platform for the Project Beacon COVID-19 Express Testing site at the Blossom Street Extension by visiting app.beacontesting.com. If you have questions about getting tested or issues regarding appointments or results at Project Beacon, please go to www.mass.gov/express-testing, call Project Beacon’s Call Center at 617-741-7310, or email at help@beacontesting.com. Appointments will become available several days in advance at a time.
MANNING FIELD (MONDAYS ONLY)
Located on Ford St. in Lynn
The City of Lynn is pleased to announce a new COVID-19 testing option through a partnership between Mass General Brigham and North Shore Medical Center. A mobile van will offer free walk-up testing for asymptomatic Lynn adults and children every Monday from 1:00-5:00pm in the Manning Field parking lot (entering on Ford Street) for the duration of the winter and spring.
This program is made possible in part through funding from the National Institutes of Health grant and RADx-UP (Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics in Underserved Populations). For more information please visit http://www.kraftcommunityhealth.org/mobile-covid-testing.
LYNN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
Located at 50 Blake St. in Lynn
Testing for COVID-19 is available for everyone in the Greater Lynn Community at Lynn Community Health Center through March 31st. You may be tested regardless of your symptoms or exposure to COVID-19. Call 781-581-3900 for an appointment. Appointments are strongly recommended, limited walk-in appointments are available. You do not need to be a patient at LCHC or have health insurance.
Two trailers were set up along the Blake Street side of the lot directly across from the health center to continue testing this winter. Patients enter the site through the gate across from the Mulberry Street alleyway and enter the first trailer for registration. They will exit the first trailer and proceed to the second trailer for testing. After their test they will exit the second trailer and leave the site through the gate across from the LCHC entrance. Patient movement will be one-way through the site,with plans in place to support social distancing at all times.
LCHC has created a video that helps explains how to make an appointment, what happens when you get to LCHC for your test, & how to access your testing results. Please click here to view the video.
LCHC Coronavirus Updates / informacion sobre covid19
COVID-19 testing times this week at LCHC:
- Monday, Wednesday, & Friday: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
- Tuesday: 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
- Thursday: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
OTHER RESOURCES
- Testing at Lynn Urgent Care – 776 Western Ave in Lynn
- This location accepts MassHealth & tests children. Walk-ins are accepted, but it is recommended to make an appointment. This location is open from 8am-8pm every day, and you can call them at 781-281-7081 for more info. & to set up an appointment.
- Testing at CVS on South Common Street in Lynn
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Every individual who wants a test must make an appointment by clicking here. Bring proof of identity & in-state residence, as well as test confirmation email/text message. Be sure to have your mobile phone in case we need to reach you. Stay in your car. Minors ages 10-15 will need to be accompanied by an adult. Confirm charge for asymptomatic testing online, before booking your appointment.
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- Interactive map of COVID-19 testing sites in State of MA
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This map provides an easy way to locate a COVID-19 test site near you. Click/tap on a test site within the map for more details. All information is sourced from site operators and healthcare providers, and it is encouraged to contact the site prior to arrival in case it has changed.
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- Additional resources, although some info. may now be out of date:
The information above was taken from the City of Lynn, Lynn Community Health Center, & State of Massachusetts websites.
Find a vaccine location near you by clicking here.
Schedule an appointment at the Lynn Tech Vaccination site by clicking here.
For phasing details and the most up-to-date status of where MA is in our vaccination timeline please click here.
Pay Lynn taxes & parking tickets
via credit card online
To Pay Taxes By Credit Card Please Go To:
To Pay Parking Tickets by Credit Card Please Go To:
“Community Fridge” concept coming to Lynn
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an interesting concept: community fridges. Simply put, a community fridge is an outdoor refrigerator stocked with donated ingredients that is accessible 24/7. The food in the fridge is 100% free and anyone can take some, no questions asked.
This has been popular in Boston, with about a dozen popping up in Boston’s various neighborhoods since the fall. Now the concept is coming to Lynn as “The Lynn Community Fridge Project”, thanks to a volunteer group of dedicated Lynners who plan to maintain this fridge.
According to the project’s website , “The Lynn Community Fridge Project was founded with two goals in mind: to combat food insecurities and reduce food waste. The core of our efforts is to make nutritious food accessible to all members of the community. Healthy food should not be a privilege.”
The group says they are currently looking for local restaurants, food stores, gardens, & other establishments to donate fresh food. Some items they are looking for are fruits, veggies, pantry items (beans, rice, pasta), eggs, & milk. Please note that all of the food must follow the Lynn Health/Safety guidelines to ensure that all the food is edible and safe to eat.
The LCFP is also looking for volunteers to help with this mutal aid effort. Volunteer duties include cleaning/organizing/sanitizing the fridge at designated times, picking up/dropping off food donations (if possible), monitoring fridge visitors to make sure COVID-19 guidelines are followed, keeping track of food supply if low, and reporting back to team leaders.
Visit their website & Instagram page for more informaiton & updates.
Info for Salvation Army food pantry
Updates from state government
As of Sunday night, DPH reported a total of 516,530cases of COVID-19. The state reported 3,004 new confirmed cases. The state has now confirmed a total of 14,698 deaths from the virus.- Governor Baker still is not on board with the climate policy bill overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature twice in about a month, but this time he has sent it back with proposed amendments he says would make the legislation more palatable. The bill is designed to push Massachusetts toward net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, establish interim emissions goals, adopt appliance energy efficiency standards, and address needs in environmental justice communities. And while Governor Baker has said he supports those aims, his administration and key lawmakers have not seen eye-to-eye on many of the finer details of the legislation.
- The amendments Governor Baker sent back cover many of the same topics he cited as concerns last month when he vetoed the same bill sent to him in the waning days of the previous legislative session, the creation of an opt-in municipal stretch energy code, the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, and the sector-specific emission reduction sub-limits proposed by the Legislature. But they also show some flexibility around many of the details, continuing negotiations informed by about three weeks of “robust dialogue” between the administration, lawmakers and outside stakeholders, according to a letter to be filed with the governor’s proposed changes.
- The governor returning the climate bill with amendments paves the way for a back-and-forth similar to the process lawmakers and the governor engaged in around recent abortion access and policing reform laws. It is most likely to end with lawmakers either agreeing to some of the changes Baker has suggested and him signing the bill or rejecting his proposed changes and overriding another gubernatorial veto. On the 2030 emissions reduction target, the governor proposes that the executive branch be allowed to set a range of between a 45 percent reduction from 1990 emissions levels (his administration’s preferred target) and 50 percent (which lawmakers wrote into the bill).
- For the 2040 target, Governor Baker similarly proposes that the executive be allowed to set it between 65 percent and 75 percent. The administration had previously said the difference between 45 percent and 50 percent could be as much as $6 billion in extra costs to the state and residents, but Governor Baker said in his letter that the flexibility “will also help the Commonwealth avoid the costs that are expected to result from imposing a higher limit, particularly on those who can least afford it.”
- Another provision of the bill that Governor Baker previously flagged as an issue but said he is willing to engage on is the requirement that the Department of Energy Resources “develop and adopt, as an appendix to the state building code, in consultation with the board of building regulations and standards, a municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code that includes, but is not limited to, a definition of net-zero building.” Some in the commercial real estate industry feared that sentence could give cities and towns the authority to ban natural gas hookups for newly-constructed buildings and require that they meet a net-zero emissions threshold.
- EOEEA Secretary Theoharides said Sunday that the amendments should provide some clarity around how the code would focus things like having a tight building envelope “without necessarily doing some of the things folks were worried about with a net zero code, which might include prescribing solar panels on all buildings or requiring buildings not be connected to gas.” In his amendment letter Sunday, Governor Baker said he is on board with the Legislature’s requirement that the executive branch direct Massachusetts utilities to buy an additional 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind power and looks forward to “working with the Legislature on opportunities to regionally procure additional offshore wind and other clean energy resources during this session.”
- Secretary Theoharides said the administration fully supports the procurements called for in the bill and, after talking the issue over with lawmakers, looks forward to developing a regional opportunity to procure clean energy during the new two-year legislative session. If the Legislature rejects the amendments and the governor ends up vetoing the bill again, the House and Senate both appear to have the votes needed to clear the two-thirds threshold required for an override.
- The House passed the bill on a 144-14 vote and the Senate passed it on a voice vote, meaning individual senators’ positions were not recorded, though the bill passed last session with 38 senators in support and there are only two new senators who did not cast votes last year.
- Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has tested positive for COVID-19 and is quarantining at her home, her office announced early Sunday afternoon. The treasurer’s office said that Goldberg “recently learned of potential exposure and was tested” for the coronavirus. The test came back positive and Goldberg is monitoring her symptoms, the office said.
- Effective Monday at 5 a.m., business capacity limits will increase from 25 percent to 40 percent. For establishments without an official maximum occupancy level, the maximum will rise from five to eight people per 1,000 feet. Affected businesses include restaurants, close contact personal services, arcades, driving and flight schools, gyms and health clubs, libraries, museums, retail shops, offices and places of worship.
- The 40 percent capacity limit also applies to common areas of lodging establishments, the indoor areas of golf facilities, and movie theaters, which also must adhere to a cap of no more than 50 people per theater. Workers and staff will not count toward the occupancy cap for restaurants and personal services.
- The limit on gatherings, which is separate from business capacity restrictions, will not change, remaining at 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 1,552 with 21 new cases today. 13,220 Lynn residents have recovered and 182 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 14,954. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.
COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments Available
at Lynn Tech Fieldhouse
Please visit https://www.lchcnet.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling or residents age 75+ can call 2-1-1 to schedule an appointment Monday-Friday from 8:30am-5:00pm
You are currently eligible to get your vaccine per Massachusetts guidelines if:
- You are a health care worker (clinical or non-clinical), including in home care worker
- You work or currently reside in a skilled nursing facility, rest home, assisted living facility or a continuing care retirement community, as defined below
- You are a first responder
- You work or currently reside in a residential congregate care/shelter setting
- You are 75 years or older
If you book your appointment and do not meet the above criteria, you will not be able to get your vaccine and you will be asked to reschedule when you arrive.
Please visit http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/resources.shtml#p7GPc1_2 for the most up to date COVID-19 testing information, as well as more detailed information on the State and City of Lynn’s Reopening Guidelines. 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).
If you have a news story that you would like to share, please contact us via email or call 781-780-9460.
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