Around Town

State Seeks Donations of Protective Equipment, Health Volunteers; Number of New Cases Lower

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Massachusetts officials will be taking donations of personal protection equipment (PPE), and seeks health professional volunteers to assist during the Coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Charlie Baker announced the creation of the PPE Procurement and Donation Portal on Sunday. The state seeks donations of a variety of things, including: surgical masks, N95/99 respirator masks, gloves, goggles, hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes. See the entire list and how to donate by clicking here: https://www.mass.gov/forms/covid-19-donation-program. The state needs help dealing with the increasing number of cases of COVID-19.

Around Town

Coronavirus Cases Grow by 33% in Mass., Up in Watertown; FEMA Will Provide Assistance

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On the same day that Massachusetts had its largest increase in positive Coronavirus cases, FEMA announced it will make disaster assistance to the Bay State to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. Watertown also saw its positive cases grow by three. In Watertown, the cases increased from 24 to 27 in one day, according to the total provided on the Watertown Health Department’s website, and Middlesex County now has 847 cases. Massachusetts had 1,017 more cases and nine more deaths, according to according to Mass. Department of Public’s latest COVID-19 update on Saturday.

Business

Many Watertown Restaurants Open During COVID-19, See the List Compiled by the Town & a Local Business Group

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Looking for a restaurant in Watertown to pick up food or have a meal delivered, check out the list compiled by the Watertown Business Coalition and the Town of Watertown. A few restaurants have closed temporarily during the Coronavirus outbreak, but most remain open for take out and, in many cases, delivery. You can call to order, some restaurants take orders on their website, or through food delivery apps such as Grub Hub, Doordash or Uber Eats. Town officials sent out the following statement:

In order to track what restaurants and other food establishments are open during this challenging and unprecedented time, the Town of Watertown has coordinated with the Watertown Business Coalition to compile and keep an up to date list of food establishments. We will continue to update the list with missing establishments and changes to current status for takeout and delivery.

Government

Gov. Baker, Legislature Extend Tax Filing Deadline Due to Coronavirus

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Massachusetts State House. Gov. Charlie Baker announced that Massachusetts income tax deadline will be pushed back three months in response to the the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. The agreement between the Governor’s office and the State Legislature pushes the deadline to file taxes from April 15 to July 15, 2020. Taxpayers do not have to file anything to qualify to the extension. The change comes a week after the Federal Income Tax filing deadline was extended.

Business

Watertown Lifts Construction Ban, Reusable Bags Banned; Town COVID-19 Cases up to 24

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The latest orders from the Governor and Town officials changed the situation for construction projects and reusable shopping bags. The measures come a day before the largest jump in positive tests for the Coronavirus in Massachusetts. On Friday, the Mass. Department of Public Health announced 823 new positive tests and 10 more deaths. The total cases in the Bay State rose to 3,240, 24 of which are in Watertown.

Police/Fire

Watertown Firefighters, Police Taking Steps to Reduce Exposure to COVID-19, Need Supplies

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Watertown firefighters and police officers have begun taking extra steps to protect themselves from the Coronavirus (COVID-19), and both departments have found it hard to keep supplies of equipment to protect them from the virus. Along with extra equipment, the Watertown Police and Fire departments have started using some new procedures during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Fire Department may ask people to come out of their homes to reduce firefighters chances of getting COVID-19, said Watertown Fire Chief Bob Quinn. “On certain Medical calls we will have people exit the home if they have COVID-19 symptoms or are in an environment with a COVID-19 positive person,” Quinn said. “This also reduces the risk to the Firefighters responding to the call as lees people will have interaction with the patient.  All patients will get the proper required care but we will be operating differently to protect unnecessary exposure to our members.”