Covid surge leads to temporary closures in Lincoln

(Editor’s note: this article was updated on January 9 to include school data from January 6).

Covid-19 continues to surge everywhere, resulting in a two-week suspension of in-person nonessential Lincoln programs and services as of Monday, Jan. 10, though schools are still in person as of January 6.

There were 49 new cases of positive Covid-19 results for Lincoln residents for the week ending January 6, compared to 29 the previous week and 15 the week before that. Prior to this surge, the town never recorded more than nine cases a week except for two weeks last January and one week in August.

Bemis Hall, Town Hall, the Lincoln Public Library, and the Parks & Recreation Department will be closed to the public for the next two weeks. However, staff will remain available via e-mail and phone to respond to requests for services and support.

The library will be resuming its curbside pickup program for requested materials. Details regarding picking up library materials will be sent in a separate email. Reference staff will be on hand to answer any questions via email or by phone at 781-259-8465. All programs will be moved to Zoom.

Library staff will be working in the building and can be reached during the following hours:

• Monday 1–7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday 9 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday 9 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Sunday 1–5 p.m.

Essential town departments and services will remain open to the public. If in-person support and transactions are required from closed areas, please contact the relevant office to schedule an appointment using the town directory, where you can find links to office web pages and phone numbers as well as contact information for individual employees.

Schools

The Lincoln Public Schools received reports of 43 cases on January 3, 4, and 5, with 52 positive cases (18 employees and 34 students) over the December recess, according to a January 5 letter to the community posted on LincolnTalk by Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall. Another 25 new positive cases (19 of them in Lincoln School K-8 students) were reported on January 6, she said in another letter posted that day. The school system dashboard (last updated on the evening of January 6) notes that there have been 82 cases in January alone.

Even before the December recess, after-school activities were canceled for this week, and teachers and all other employees were told to wear state-issued KN95 masks at all times indoors.

“The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride,” McFall said in her January 5 letter, noting that there has been “changing guidance” from the CDC as well as state school and health offices.

Some Massachusetts schools reopened a day or two late this week because of the Covid-19 surge. On December 31, the Massachusetts teachers’ union called on Gov. Baker to allow a return to remote learning. However, Baker reiterated on January 3 that remote learning was not an option and schools would have to deliver the usual 180 days of in-person instruction, though they were free to use snow days as they saw fit.

Like many school districts in eastern Massachusetts, Lincoln announced that there would be no school on January 7 due to the forecast of snow.

Here is a summary of school cases from December 24 – January 5 provided by McFall: