Town of Manchester-by-the-Sea Issues Update on COVID-19 Reporting Process

The Board of Health and Board of Selectmen have updated the process of communicating information about COVID-19 to residents. All COVID-19 related information will continue to be conveyed to the public through the Town website (www.Manchester.ma.us), email alerts, Town social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), the Manchester Cricket and reverse 911 calls (if necessary). Residents are encouraged to follow one of these mediums to stay informed.

Each Wednesday beginning on April 8 the Board of Health will release an update on the COVID-19 cases in Manchester-by-the-Sea. This number will include a breakdown of Total Confirmed Cases, Active Cases and Recovered Cases.

The Board of Health and Board of Selectmen will update the public daily (as needed) when new guidelines are released from the State or when important changes occur to Manchester-by-the-Sea operations and services.

The Board of Health would like to educate and inform the community on the confirmation process for COVID-19 cases to help the community better understand the level of detail required in the handling of each case.

The Hinton State Lab in Jamaica Plain, as well as any other State approved lab completing coronavirus testing, is required to report to the Manchester Board of Health any positive tests for a person living in Manchester.  This reporting is done on the Massachusetts MAVEN system (Mass Virtual Epidemiologic Network).

Maven will report the resident’s positive test result and contact information to our Public Health Nurse, Pam Ciccone. 

Here is what happens next:

• The public health nurse will contact the resident to give instructions for isolation.
• The public health nurse will begin contact tracing, compiling a list of people who have been in close contact with the resident.
• The public health nurse will contact those persons identified as close contacts to complete an interview and provide instructions for quarantine.
• The public health nurse will continue to work daily with those persons in both isolation and quarantine. 
• Release from home isolation for positive cases can be either 2 negative tests at least 24 hours apart OR being 7 days past start of symptoms with improvement and no fever for 3 days (without the use of acetaminophen/ibuprofen).

At this time, the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen advise all residents to adhere to the recommendations implemented by the Town and State in order to keep numbers low in the community and to stop the spread of COVID-19. Practice social distancing, stay 6 feet apart, avoid groups larger than 10 and follow the guidelines of  www.mass.gov, www.cdc.gov, and www.manchester.ma.us.

If you have further questions for the Board of Health please contact Ellen Lufkin at lufkine@manchester.ma.us or (978)526-7385