City of Salem COVID – 19 Update – Latest News From the City – Interview With Mayor Kim Driscoll

City of Salem COVID-19 Response Update – March 19, 2020

Afternoon Update From City

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll – From Today’s Connection’s Show

 

 SALEM – The City of Salem continues to advance measures to help slow the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and lessen impacts on healthcare providers responding to this evolving situation. Below please find more details about updates and announcements from the City during this public health emergency.

New Updates

• City offices will be staffed reduced hours at City Hall and City Hall Annex, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 8:00 a.m. to noon on Fridays. Residents should call or email to reach a department at these times as these buildings remain closed to the public.

• The Salem Public Library will no longer provide curbside check-out and will no longer be circulating materials to the public. Materials that are checked out can be returned via the book drop at the front of the building. Residents who have outstanding requests for materials should call 978-744-0860 so arrangements can be made to fulfill those requests. Online services and resources all continue to be available at www.salempl.org.

• Residents can now use SeeClickFix to request assistance from neighbors. This tool can be useful for those who wish to communicate with neighbors around them but may not have their neighbor’s personal contact information. To use the tool, visit seeclickfix.com/report and create a new request using the category “Help a neighbor during COVID-19 emergency.” Residents can set up notifications to get an alert when a neighbor posts one of these requests so they can respond if they are able.

Previous Updates Still In Effect

• City buildings – including City Hall, City Hall Annex, the Mayor Jean Levesque Community Life Center, and the Salem Public Library – are closed to the public. Departments can be reached by phone or email. Public works and public safety departments continue to function. Note that City offices are being staffed reduced hours at City Hall and City Hall Annex, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 8:00 a.m. to noon on Fridays.

• The City of Salem has launched Salem Together at www.salem.com/together, with a volunteer sign-up form, tools to request assistance, charitable funds accepting donations, and a wide variety of informational resources all in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

• The City of Salem is utilizing the Zoom platform for remote participation of public meetings during this public emergency. Details about accessing each meeting, including the toll-free dial-in number and the meeting ID number, will be posted in the meeting notice/agenda for each meeting scheduled to take place remotely at least 48 hours before the meeting.

• The use of playground equipment and structures at City parks is prohibited during this public emergency.

• Waste Management has temporarily closed their call center, so their customer service number (800-972-4545) is currently out of service. This will have no impact on your trash and recycling pickup; all trash and recycling pickups will continue to operate on a normal schedule. If you need to report a missed trash or recycling pick up, please report it using SeeClickFix. Bulk item and white good pick-ups will not be scheduled during this time; any appointments already scheduled will be collected as planned. If you need to schedule a bin repair or have any questions, please contact the Engineering department at 978-619-5673.

• The City of Salem has extended the Community Preservation Act grant application deadline to April 16^th.

• The City of Salem is waiving the late fees on any unpaid automobile excise bills that were due March 9^th. This waiver will be in place until April 17^th, unless otherwise announced. The waiver only applies to late fees and not to the regular bill amount. You can pay your automobile excise bill online at salem.com/paybills.

• Salem Public Schools are closed through April 6th. For updates regarding the status of Salem Public Schools, please visit www.salemk12.org.

• Members of the public should ensure they are subscribed to Salem’s three primary communication platforms, all available at www.salem.com/subscribe: (1) CodeRED, the emergency notification system, (2) City Alerts, found under the “Urgent Alert” menu, and (3) City News & Announcement, found under the “News or Announcement” category.

• Members of the public with cold-like symptoms, fever, cough, or other illness should contact their healthcare provider. To ensure the effectiveness of efforts to slow the spread of the virus, members of the public should avoid congregating in groups of more than 10 people.

Status of Cases

As of 4:00 p.m. on March 19, 2020, there are 0 positive novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the City of Salem.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit www.coronavirus.gov and www.mass.gov/coronavirus. Mass DPH has posted an FAQ at https://www.mass.gov/info-details/frequently-asked-questions-about-covid-19 and has activated an information line that can be reached by dialing 2-1-1.