AVON — Town Administrator Gregory S. Enos and Health Agent Kathleen Waldron report that the Town of Avon has seen a rise in positive COVID-19 cases recently, resulting in an increased risk designation from the Commonwealth.
According to the public health data released on Thursday, Nov. 19, the Town’s designation is now “Yellow,” indicating a “medium risk” in the community. This designation follows the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) update to the calculation of risk designations to better reflect COVID-19 caseload in relation to population.
Avon’s “Yellow” designation in accordance with the new metrics indicates less than or equal to 25 positive cases in the community.
According to today’s data, there have been 20 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Avon over the past two weeks. The Town’s average daily incidence rate has risen to 32.6 per 100,000 residents.
“We urge our residents to remain vigilant against the spread of COVID-19 as the spread is currently seen to be primarily occurring within households and at social gatherings, especially among young adults,” Health Agent Waldron said. “We also ask that all of our residents do their part in stopping the spread by adhering to Gov. Baker’s new safety measures that went into effect last week.”
Avon residents are reminded of the new state measures now in effect. They include:
- Stay At Home Advisory: A revised Stay At Home Advisory has been issued which instructs residents to stay home between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Exceptions are made for activities such as going to work, running critical errands to get groceries and address health needs, and taking a walk. To read the revised advisory, click here.
- Early Closure of Businesses and Activities: A new executive order requires certain businesses to close and activities to end each night at 9:30 p.m. To read the new executive order, including a full list of businesses affected by the new early closure requirement, click here.
- Face Coverings: Face coverings are now required in all public places, even if 6 feet of social distance can be maintained. Limited exceptions remain. To read the revised face-coverings order, click here.
- Gatherings: A new order reduces the gathering size limit for gatherings at private residences. Indoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 25 people. The new order also requires that organizers of gatherings report known positive COVID-19 cases to the local health department and requires organizers to cooperate with contact tracing. To read the revised gatherings order, click here.
Holiday Safety
With the holiday season upon us, the Town of Avon would like to share the following holiday safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
- Family and friends should limit in-person holiday gatherings to only people you live with or limit to a small group of individuals with whom you are regularly in contact.
- Host outdoor activities rather than indoor activities as much as possible. If hosting an outdoor event is not possible, and you choose to host an indoor event, avoid crowded, poorly ventilated, or fully enclosed indoor spaces.
- Avoid traveling for the holidays, as traveling increases the chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Celebrating virtually or with members of your own household poses low risk for spread.
- During holiday celebrations, you should maintain a distance of at least 6 feet or more from people you don’t live with, wear a mask and avoid busy eating areas, such as restaurants during high volume mealtimes.
- If you participated in higher risk activities or think that you may have been exposed during your celebration, take extra precautions (in addition the ones listed above) for 14 days after the event to protect others:
To view more holiday safety tips, visit the CDC’s COVID-19: Holiday Celebration page here.
Any resident with questions or concerns is asked to contact the Avon Board of Health at 508-588-0414 ext. 1016, or email kwaldron@avon-ma.gov. To view video updates on Avon’s public health data, visit the Town’s YouTube page by clicking here.
For additional tips from the CDC, click here, and from the Massachusetts DPH, click here.