My updates relating to COVID-19 for Tuesday, December 1, 2020.
Below are Mayor Walsh’s remarks for December 1, 2020.
State numbers yesterday (Monday): there were 1,166 new confirmed cases, for a total of 218,329. There were 25 new deaths reported, and 10,512 people have now passed away.
In Boston today (Tuesday): there were 407 new confirmed cases, for a total of 27,635. There were no new deaths today. But, since Friday, we had 11 new deaths reported. The total is now 919.
Our prayers are with the families of those who passed and all those who are suffering.
Testing data for the week ending on November 23: We had an average of 4,860 people tested each day, compared to 4,200 the week before. That does not include college testing. It does reflect the strong demand for testing ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
I want to thank everyone who got tested, and I want to urge everyone: If you traveled for Thanksgiving, or were in a gathering larger than your household, get tested as soon as possible. Currently, we have over 30 testing sites in Boston. You can find them listed and mapped at boston.gov/coronavirus, or you can call 311.
We continue to expand our testing capacity, especially for communities with the highest rates of infection. Our free mobile testing sites this week are in Central Square Park in East Boston and Washington Park Mall in Roxbury at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Warren Street.
I can also announce a third mobile site this week. It will be operating today through Thursday in Jamaica Plain, at Anna Cole Community Center at 10 Lamartine Street. It is open from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day to provide more access to folks who can’t get time off work during the day. We continue to urge employers to be flexible and provide that time. As a reminder, all of our mobile sites are free and open to anyone, regardless of whether you have COVID symptoms or not.
Positivity for the week ending November 23: The average number of positive tests each day for Boston residents was 183, down from 252. Our current community positivity rate was 3.4%, down from 5.4%. No neighborhoods had positivity over 8%, but Dorchester, East Boston, and Hyde Park were over 5%. Every neighborhood saw its positivity rate go down. So in the two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, our numbers went in the right direction, but we may see an increase when the impact of the Thanksgiving holiday makes it into the testing data. You heard me report a large number today — over 400 new cases. We’re going to be monitoring the data closely as it comes in.
In the meantime, we have to do everything we can to keep the progress going. We’re going to keep providing testing resources, along with health and safety guidelines. And we need everyone to take your personal precautions as seriously as ever.
Cover your nose and mouth, with a mask or face covering, when you are in any kind of public place. Wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer. Clean and disinfect your surroundings. Take these precautions in your workplace as well. If you are an employer, please make sure your workers have what they need to be safe, and allow as many people to work from home as possible. If you have reason to think you’ve been exposed to COVID-19, please get tested right away, and self-quarantine.
We’re going to continue to provide support for residents and small businesses impacted by COVID. Today, I want to remind everyone of the free food resources we have available.
There have been reports across the country about food pantries struggling to keep up with demand. I want to assure everyone in Boston that our food access system is resilient and going strong. The staff and volunteers at these sites have been working hard and I thank them. We’re in constant communication with key partners, like the Greater Boston Food Bank, and we have continued to provide support through the Boston Resiliency Fund to fill gaps.
We currently have 58 active youth meal sites. You can pick up multiple meals at one location for anyone 18 and under. No ID is necessary and children do not need to be present. These sites will remain open through the winter. These locations include 26 Boston Public Schools “super-sites,” where you can pick up three days of meals in one trip for your child. We are working on making sure those sites can provide groceries as well as packaged meals.
In addition, families of Boston school students are entitled to a Pandemic-EBT card, issued by the state, for buying food and groceries. If you have used your card already, please hold onto it. We expect more funds will be added to these cards in the coming months.
We also have the Double Up Food Bucks program, which provides 50% off produce bought with SNAP benefits at local markets. If you are a store owner and would like to participate, please contact our Office of Food Access by emailing food@boston.gov.
For information on all the resources, as well as a map of meal sites, visit boston.gov/Food.
Update on financial supports: There’s a reason that demand for food assistance has gone up. This pandemic has caused severe economic pain and heightened inequities across our city. Many people are out of work. Many people are dealing with the virus in their family and going into quarantine. It’s had a devastating effect on many of our families and households, especially in communities of color. We want to be there for everyone who is in need, and we want you to know that help is available.
I talked about our food resources today. I talked last week about new grants from the Boston Resiliency Fund, supporting organizations that do this work in the community. We continue to have our $8 million Rental Relief Fund available at boston.gov/RentalRelief. And today, we’re announcing a new resource to help you deal with the economic stress brought on by the pandemic.
It’s called the Financial Navigator Program. The way it works is you get a free, half-hour phone consultation with one of our Navigators. They are trained to help you get access to the relief and services you need. There are many programs out there designed for the needs that residents are currently experiencing, but too many people are not aware of these programs, or don’t realize they qualify. The Navigators can help with that. They can also help untangle some of the financial chaos people are facing, and help you make a plan for moving forward. You can access the Financial Navigators by completing a form available on ofe.boston.gov, which is our Office of Financial Empowerment. You can also call 617–356–8229 to sign up for help, or call 311 and ask about our Financial Navigators program. In addition to English, Financial Navigators are able to help in Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Portuguese.
I have good news to share about how we are managing City finances during this challenging time.
Last week, both of our credit rating agencies assigned the City of Boston perfect, AAA bond ratings, with a stable outlook moving forward. What a AAA bond rating means is this: Because we have taken good care of our finances, our credit is trusted as the best in its class, we can get the lowest borrowing costs, and we can invest more in our neighborhoods than ever before.
2014 was the first time Boston received perfect ratings from both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. By growing our economy and carefully managing your tax money, we held onto these perfect bond ratings every year since then.
This year, in a much tougher economy, we have maintained this strong financial position. In fact, we were named in the National Tax Journal and the New York Times as the City best prepared to withstand the COVID-19 recession. That’s an outstanding achievement. I want to thank our Chief of Administration & Finance Emme Handy, our Budget Director Justin Sterrit, our Head of Treasury Drew Smith, and their teams.
Most important is what it means for our residents. It means we will be able to invest more resources in affordable housing; in climate resilience, open space, and parks; in new schools and neighborhood libraries; in safe streets, bus and bike lanes — all the infrastructure that supports our quality of life and helps families build their dreams here in Boston.
This year, we responded to the immediate and urgent needs of our residents. At the same time, this long-term work allows us to build a resilient and equitable recovery. It’s why our upcoming bond sale will feature Boston’s first-ever series of Green Bonds and first-ever series of Social Bonds. The Green Bonds will support energy efficiency investments in City buildings and climate adaptations in our public spaces. The Social Bonds will support affordable housing at multiple sites across the City. We’ll be releasing more details on these bonds and projects later today.
Finally, today is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and that means it’s Giving Tuesday. This year, the needs in our communities are greater than they have been in a long time. At the same time, the opportunities to help meet those needs are more numerous than ever as well. Many nonprofits and community organizations are doing incredible work in our neighborhoods. In most cases, the work is being done by people in the community, who know the community and reflect the cultures of our neighborhoods. We’ve gotten to see that up close this year through the work done by Boston Resiliency Fund grantees.
Since April, the Fund has delivered over $29 million to 350 nonprofits that serve their neighbors, with COVID testing, food, gift cards, home learning technology, and more. But, there is much more work to be done and the work continues. I encourage you, if you can, to help out the local nonprofits that are doing this work. You can learn more about the non-profits doing COVID relief work at boston.gov/ResiliencyFund.
We’re also entering the holiday season, and that’s a tough time for a lot of families. This year, more families are struggling just to meet their basic needs like food and rent. Buying toys and gifts is going to be beyond the reach of many. That’s why one of our most meaningful partners at this time of year is Toys for Tots. It’s the annual toy drive led by the U.S. Marine Corps. We work with Toys for Tots because we don’t want any child or family to be left out of the holiday joy.
We can’t have the in-person toy drives we usually have, so we all need to work harder than ever to make sure we reach every child and family. We’re going to have locations across the city where you can drop off new, unwrapped toys, including at many city buildings. There will be other ways to support this effort. I’ll be sharing more about those opportunities later this week and all month.
It’s a good time to give, if you can, because doing something for others is often the best way to deal with stressful times. We are all feeling some degree of stress these days. It’s December 1. We are nine months into a pandemic. We have the winter ahead of us. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but there’s a lot of work to do to get there. I know Boston can do it, because we’re a strong city and a compassionate city. We support each other, we stand with each other, we help each other, we lift each other up when we fall down.
I had the opportunity on Thanksgiving to think about where we are, and where I am, thinking about this past year. And I’m extremely grateful for people who help the most vulnerable in our city. I’m grateful for people who set up food pantries. I’m grateful for the first responders. I’m grateful for the nurses and doctors. I’m grateful for the janitorial staff who keep our hospitals and buildings clean. I’m grateful for the press, for the communication you’ve given people over the last nine months to keep them safe. I’m grateful for the teams here at City Hall, the staff who’ve done amazing work. That gratitude, we have to keep that in our heart. So when you’re down, you’ve got to remember all the acts of kindness people have shown over the last nine months. We are getting there. We need to continue to support and rally around each other. That’s how we will get through this pandemic. So I just ask everyone to dig deep, and make sure those who are in need get help, and feel the love in our community over the holidays and for as long as it takes.
