Schools

Watertown Schools Start Planning to Keep Learning Going During Coronavirus Closure

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Watertown School officials sent out the following letter about how they are responding to the closing of the schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, including finding ways to continue the learning while students are at home. The following statement was sent out by the Watertown Public Schools on Thursday evening:

Good Evening, WPS Families, and Staff:

Tomorrow as we welcome our incredible staff to join together in virtual spaces and begin to transition to providing continuous learning opportunities for students and families, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire community for understanding that shifting from face-to-face live instruction to this new virtual learning paradigm is challenging.  The next few weeks will be a time that we all learn and grow together.  Our teachers and staff are learning how best to keep continuity in learning for our students, and our families are learning how best to guide and support their children at home.  

Keeping Learning Moving

The Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment is continuing to develop excellent resources to support our families while schools are closed. On our new Extended Learning Opportunities webpage, we have posted educational resources for students from early childhood through grade 12. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to stay engaged and provide opportunities for learning during the school closure. Please note that these activities are not intended to replace or substitute classroom instruction, but instead to keep our students engaged and thinking as much as possible while school is not in session. You may want to bookmark this site as we will be utilizing it and updating it throughout the period of closure.  As our teachers are preparing for course and/or grade level specific learning opportunities, please refer to this website as it provides deeply engaging resources for you to use with your children.

Coronavirus

Council President Discusses Watertown’s Response to the Coronavirus, Steps You Can Take

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Town Council President Mark Siders at the inauguration in 2018. To the Watertown community:

I want to take this opportunity to give you a brief update with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Watertown is managing our response to it. The Town Manager and Administration along with myself and the Town Council are staying on top of all measures being put in place at the state level, in addition to those regulations we have put in place locally. The Town Manager is meeting daily with the Director of Public Health, the Police and Fire Chiefs, and other Department heads to assess the effectiveness of recent state and local regulations, and to determine if other actions may be needed to best protect our community. Communications from the Town Manager are available on the Town’s website and are updated frequently.

Around Town

More Supermarkets in & Around Watertown Offering Hours for Seniors, 1 Market Offering Delivery

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Stop & Shop is not the only supermarket in the area offering special shopping hours for seniors in an effort to provide extra social distancing for those who could be more at risk if they got the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Some of Watertown’s local markets have added time for seniors to shop, or other ways for residents to access food and produce. Russo’s Market, 560 Pleasant St., has special hours for seniors from 6 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Arax Market announced on its Facebook page: We are offering delivery for Watertown residents ONLY ($25 minimum). We will also do your shopping for you and you can come and pick it up. You can call (617-924-3399) or message us on Facebook or Instagram.We have been working round the clock to ensure all of our customers have fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, bread, dairy, and homemade prepared meals. Massis Bakery said on its Facebook page that its shelves are stocked, and it is open Monday through Saturday.

Around Town

Watertown Has a Third Positive Test for Coronavirus

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Watertown has a third positive test for Coronavirus, the Watertown Health Department announced Thursday, with the second case coming over the weekend. The Health Department said it cannot release information about the people who tested positive for COVID-19, including where they live and work. They said they are trying to track any people they may have been in contact with. In the statement about the second Watertown case, the Health Department indicated that the person had no link to the Watertown Public Schools. The announcement about the third case did not have that information (See the announcement farther below).

Around Town

See How the Coronavirus Has Impacted Banks in Watertown

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Some banks have closed their lobbies in response to the Coronavirus outbreak, others have cut back their hours and some, mostly the large banks, remain open with regular hours but with extra efforts to disinfect their branches. Watertown Savings Bank announced Wednesday that it will be closing its lobbies, but the drive-up locations are still open. It provided the following information:

All drive‑up services will remain open for bank transactions. If you use our drive‑up services, you will notice that we are taking extra precautions — such as having our team wear protective gloves — to ensure your and our employees’ safety. While prudent, this makes certain transactions, like counting money, somewhat harder and some transactions may take longer.

Around Town

Gov. Baker Orders Most Day Care to Close During Coronavirus Crisis

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Most childcare providers will be closed beginning Monday in an effort to stop the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. Baker said that most child care providers would be closed, but added the state was also looking to create “a process for opening exempt emergency child care programs,” according to a Boston Globe article. The emergency child care programs will be for families of medical staff, emergency personnel and “others critical to fighting the COVID-19 outbreak,” Baker said. These programs will be the only ones allowed to operate during this state of emergency, Baker added. The state will continue to give childcare providers subsidy payments to help them through the Coronavirus crisis.

Around Town

Grocery Store Chain Opening Early to Allow Older Customers to Shop

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Supermarket chain Stop & Shop announced that it will soon start opening early to allow shoppers 60 and older to get their groceries as part of their efforts for social distancing due to the Coronavirus. Stop & Shop said it would open early to allow give older people to shop before the broader public can start shopping. “To support this group, beginning Thursday, March 19th, all Stop & Shop stores will open earlier in order to service only customers who are age 60 and over from 6:00a.m.-7:30a.m. daily.” “We’re making the decision to offer this every day of the week to allow for community members in this age category to shop in a less crowded environment, which better enables social distancing. They’ll also be shopping prior to any other customers entering.”

Business

Watertown Biotech Company Seeks to Create Coronavirus Treatment

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The following announcement was sent out by Watertown-based Enanta Pharmaceuticals:

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases, today announced that it has initiated a program to discover direct-acting antiviral drug candidates for the treatment of patients infected with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2. The company is leveraging its years of expertise in virology, including its discovery work on two approved protease inhibitors – paritaprevir and glecaprevir – for use against hepatitis C virus (HCV), its development of a candidate for hepatitis B virus (HBV), and most importantly, its development of candidates for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), to explore approaches against this pandemic health threat. Enanta is taking a two-pronged approach to its COVID-19 discovery efforts. It is testing compounds from its antiviral compound library for potential activity against COVID-19. It is also initiating a drug discovery program using its expertise in direct-acting antiviral mechanisms to discover new candidates to treat COVID-19.