Around Town

Library Closed Until May 18, But Plenty of Online Activities for Children, Teens & Adults

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The historic facade of the Watertown Free Public Library. The Watertown Free Public Library sent out the following information:

As directed by Town Manager Michael Driscoll, the Watertown Free Public Library will remain closed to the public until Monday, May 18th to help minimize the spread of COVID-19. This extends the Library’s previous closure period by two weeks. 

Do you need help accessing WFPL’s (newly expanded) digital library? The Reference Department has created simple video tutorials to introduce our most popular digital services and help you set up an account, step by step: watertownlib.org/eLibTutorials

While the Library is closed, WFPL will continue to offer virtual programs for children, teens, and adults. Here’s what’s coming up for the week of May 4 – May 10:

FOR CHILDREN

Springo!May 1 – 30 | Can you get bingo on our spring-themed outdoor scavenger hunt?

Around Town

Gov. Baker Issues Order to Wear Face Masks in Stores & When Unable to Social Distance

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Gov. Charlie Baker, with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. All Massachusetts residents must cover their faces in public places as part of the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The requirement applies when people while they are outdoors and are unable to social distance, and all the time in indoor spaces such as stores. Gov. Charlie Baker announced the order Friday afternoon, and it takes effect on May 6. The exceptions include children under the age of 2 and those who have medical conditions that prevent them from wearing a face covering.

Around Town

Watertown Groups Providing Ways to Get Help From & Give Assistance to Neighbors (Including Face Masks)

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The recently created Mutual Aid Network is a way for Watertown residents to help their neighbors, and for people in town to get assistance during the COVID-19 outbreak, including food, financial assistance and even face masks. The combined effort by the Watertown Community Foundation and the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network kicked off last week, and has already garnered a team of volunteers. Jan Singer, executive director of the Watertown Community Foundation said that people can request assistance or volunteer to provide help through this Mutual Aid form. The idea of Mutual Aid is to connect people, Singer said. Normally the groups would create a central drop-off and pick-up site, but that is not possible with places like the Watertown Library and Town Hall closed due to orders by the Governor.

Around Town

See How to Make Your Own Face Mask with Items at Home

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Starting May 4, people in Watertown will be required to wear a face covering when out in public — indoors and out. Face masks may be hard to find in stores, but the CDC has a video showing how to make your own using items in your home. Items needed are a piece of cloth (a bandana, small towel or piece of clothing) and two rubber bands. No sewing necessary. https://youtu.be/tPx1yqvJgf4

The requirement to wear something to cover your face and mouth was put in place by the Board of Health on Thursday.

Around Town

Face Coverings Will be Required in Public in Watertown, Violators Will Face a Fine

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The Watertown Board of Health voted to require that people wear face coverings when out in public, indoors and out, or face a fine. The order is a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, said Town Health Director Larry Ramdin. The board voted to approve the order, which will take effect Monday, May 4 and requires anyone age 5 or older to wear something that covers their nose and mouth while in public places, but not necessarily a face mask. Other options include bandanas or scarfs that cover the nose and mouth. Exceptions will be made for children under age 5, as well as people who have health conditions or disabilities that prevent them from wearing a face covering.

Around Town

Watertown Savings Awards More Than $20 Million in PPP Loans

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A lot of money was raised and spent on the 2015 Watertown Election. One of the key parts of the Federal CARES Act, passed by Congress in response to the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, was the program to prevent layoffs, called the Payroll Protection Program or PPP. Loans were granted to businesses who applied through their banks. Locally, one of the institutions used by many in town is Watertown Savings Bank, which announced it handed out more than $20 million in PPP loans. The program allows for forgivable loans of up to $10 million, but the average amount of the PPP loans approved by Watertown Savings was close to $35,000.

Around Town

OP-ED: Sen. Brownsberger’s Survey Finds Most Agree with Mass. Social Distancing Measures

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

State Sen. Will Brownsberger surveyed people about the social distancing steps that Massachusetts officials have taken, and found that the vast majority agree with them and expect it to be “a long time” before the situation returns to normal. Brownsberger — who represents Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston — sent out the following write up about the survey, which was the second he has conducted about the state’s response to COVID-19 (see the first here). COVID-19 Check-in Survey II

Key Takeaways

95% support Massachusetts’ social distancing policies or feel we should go further.96% expect we will take a long time to get back to normal or will have to adapt to a permanent new normal. Summary of Survey

A total of 2,662 of people responded to an email and Facebook survey initiated on Saturday, April 25, 2020, with 85% responding on that day.As to Massachusetts’ COVID-19 response, only 5% of respondents stated “We have gone too far — the economic impact is not worth it.”Public support for social distancing remains strong: 65% felt “The balance is right at this time” and 30% felt “We have not gone far enough — people are still doing unnecessary and unsafe things.”As compared to the March survey which was completed mostly before the Governor’s non-essential business closures of March 23, the group feeling “We have not gone far enough” has declined from 54% to 30%, while the group feeling “We have gone too far” has increased slightly from 3% to 5%.9% reported that they were unemployed as a result of the epidemic while 3% reported they were previously unemployed. The newly unemployed were somewhat more likely to feel our response has gone too far (12%) than the respondents as a whole (5%), but 88% of them felt we have the balance right or have not gone far enough.The share of respondents currently behind on bills dropped slightly from 3% to 2%.

Government

Board of Health Considering Requiring COVID-19 Face Masks in Watertown

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Watertown’s Board of Health will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss whether to require that people wear face masks in public places in town. The meeting will meet on April 30 at 3 p.m. via Zoom meeting, which the public can join. The lone agenda item reads: Consider and affirm order requiring wearing of face masks in public to contain spread ofCOVID 19 Virus. Watertown would join other communities requiring people to wear face coverings while out in public. Somerville and Cambridge passed orders requiring people to wear a face mask in public places.