Sports: Girls’ XC Takes The Wrong Way Home; Golf Opems With The W; Field Hockey’s Hard Start

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Photo: Belmont High’s Isabel Burger

It was looking like a promising start to the shortened season for Belmont High’s Girls’ Cross Country. Senior Isabel Burger surged in the final half mile to win going away the first dual meet against Lexington on a crisp Saturday morning Oct. 3.

Lexington’s first runner came by 15 seconds back. Lexington runners then came in third, fourth and fifth. “I know we had runners who were better than those runners,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Tkacs.

When each of Lexington’s seven runners in the first wave of the varsity race had crossed the finish line of the 3.1 mile race in Lexington’s Hastings Park with nary a Belmont Harrier insight, “I knew something was not right,” said Tkacs especially when the second Belmont runner across the lin started two-and-a-half minutes after the first wave.

Thankfully, about 12 minutes after their expected arrival time the team began appearing from the Bermuda Triangle known as the Lexington cross country course.

So what happened? It appears that the Belmont runners behind Burger where told to run a half mile loop not the one time as they were supposed to but two extra times resulting in the “Lost Six” logging 4.1 miles. The runners said that a course official kept sending them back on the loop.

Due to the incorrect instructions, the Minutemen took the meet, 20-41.

“The results won’t reflect what the girls are capable of,” said Tkacs. “They ran hard even though it was an extra mile and that a lot of extra running to do.”

“We’ll rally and do better at the next meet,” she said.

There has been conversations Belmont runners will return to the course to run and receive a time for the race.

Golf Hopes To Repeat Opening Win Against Always Tough Lexington

Belmont High’s golfers got off to a smart start in defense of its Middlesex League crown by defeating Arlington High’s SpyPonders, 41-31, at Winchester Country Club on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Head Coach Jeff Shea will lead his charges against visitors Lexington on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m.

Field Hockey Discovers The Old Ways Won’t Work

Belmont High Field Hockey has long been known as a team that used precise passing and pressuring defense to reach the post season 13 times in 14 years.

But under the new rules – reducing the numbers of players on each team from 11 to 7, no penalty corners and social distancing between players among others – its once strengths have diminished to a more wide open game that a single player can dominate.

Against Belmont in the season opener on Saturday, that one player was Lexington’s Maddie Devine. Last year’s Middlesex League co-MVP who will be heading to BU next year, Devine quarterbacked a quick team that found space all over the field playing a long ball game.

“We went into the game with an offensive mindset because we looked good in practice,” said head coach Jess Smith. But early in the game, Lexington was able to send midfielders into the offensive end, creating odd man breaks where two or three Minutemen would be defended by a single Belmont back line player.

“No matter how much you practice, it’s only in the game where you saw how important long passes and speed have become,” said Smith.

Needing to quickly adjust their game, Belmont would revert back to playing as if it was 11 players against 11 with a reliance on short connecting passes. “But that’s wasn’t going to work,” said Smith.

It wasn’t pretty at the end as Belmont and Smith suffered its worst defeat since Smith arrived in 2004, losing 8-0.

“We’ll have to work on our defense and learn to adjust. But we’re just not there just yet,” said Smith.

Soccer: Girls’ Hang On For 3-2 Win In Season Opener; Boys’ Looking For Offense In Shutout Loss

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Photo: Belmont High’s Katelyn Sawyer (9) and Grace Kane (3) in action against Lexington

Belmont High Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer squads got their respective seasons underway this past weekend.

Girls’: Belmont Hangs On To Secure Opener Victory

The Belmont High Marauders showed what a senior laden team can do best as it took maximum advantage of the opportunities given them to take home a 3-2 opening day victory against the host Lexington High Minutemen.

“I’m happy with the results because we lost twice of them last year. So that was a big one for us,” said of Belmont’s long time head coach Paul Graham.

The senior strike partnership of Kiki Christofori and Jenna Thomas joined sophomore midfielder Kiley Meringer with goals in the inaugural game of the shortened 10-game season.

Christofori scored midway though the first quarter off a hard shot that hit the Minuteman goalie’s shoulder and bounced in. Meringer lofted a floater that caught the goalie off her line and settled in at the 7:30 mark of the second quarter. Thomas slotted a shot that snuck into the net five minutes into the third to give Belmont a 3-0 lead.

It turned out that each goal was needed as the Minutemen grew stronger – they hit the crossbar twice in the game – as the game progressed led by its talented junior forward Kirsty Carnan who was a handful for the Marauders backline, a group that won Graham’s praise.

“I have to say my four defenders really played well, Graham said describing the workrate of sophomore Sabrina Spalls, senior Grace Kane – who moved from the midfield – and returning stalwarts junior Ally Landers and senior Ashley Green.

“You know they were very very strong, they’re tough to beat up,” said Graham who acknowledged senior Rachel November was a standout controlling the middle of the field.

Senior Abbie Moran kept a clean sheet in the first two quarters with a fine stop of a Carnan shot on her near side post. Junior Bridget Martin was busy for the entire second half giving up a Carnan goal in the final minute of the game to cut the margin of victory to one.

Belmont will host Lexington this Saturday, Oct. 11 at Harris Field at 4 p.m.

Boys’ Lacked Punch On The O Side Of The Ball Falling 2-0

While it was perfect fall weather to play a game – sunny in the upper 60s – it was a frustrating game for the Belmont High Boys Soccer as a lack of offense punch left the Marauders empty handed on the scoresheet falling to Lexington High Minutemen, 2-0, in the home and season opener on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Harris Field.

While Belmont’s midfielders and defenders kept the Minutemen at bay for the first two quarters, the Marauders – under new head coach Jean M Carlone Laforgue – couldn’t find the right combination of passes that would spring their forwards for clear shots.

Senior midfielder Ali Noorouzi had Belmont best chance when, in the second quarter, he ran onto a probing pass to the right of goal but couldn’t lift the ball over the on rushing goalie.

Noorouzi was Belmont’s Man of the Match whose work rate allowed the Marauders to hold the majority of possession in the first half. Senior center back Lars Gustav Bauerle controlled the turf in front of junior goalie Damon Reyes. Up front, senior forward Will Kivalatitu was the most threatening to the Minutemen backline.

Lexington where able to end the stalemate at 14:20 in the third through senior Lynn Jueppner from junior Eric Edmonds on a nice build up on the left wing. The same combination hit in the fourth as Jueppner got the brace from a strike in close between a pair of Belmont defenders at 14:26 in the fourth.

The remainder of the game saw Belmont attempting to find a way around a Lexington team packing the middle with little to show for their attempts.

Belmont visits Lexington at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 10.

Q&A: Nearly Cancelled, FBE’s Apple Run Found A Way To Start The Race

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Photo: The FBE Apple Run is underway

The start of the Foundation for Belmont Education’s Apple Run 5K/2K race is … anytime the runners want it to be.

From today, Friday, Oct. 2 until midnight, Oct. 12, participants will take to the 3.1 mile course racing against each other virtually due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Runners are racing in a number of traditional individual time categories in addition to team contests, best costumes and a slowest racer competition.

Race registration here

Read the latest information on the race here

With the Brendan Home Run ending in 2019, the Apple Run – formerly the Dan Scharfman 5K – is the largest athletic event in Belmont in sponsored by the Foundation in support of technology at the Belmont public schools.

Paul Roberts, this year’s race director, talks to the Belmontonian about transforming the race into a virtual contest and way it was important to have it take place despite all the external pressures no to.

Question: The FBE Apple Run 5K/2K is the largest athletic event in Belmont and one of the Foundation’s major fundraisers. What were your plans as race director for the second running of the race when the pandemic put a halt to all large gatherings back in March?

Roberts: When COVID first hit, we weren’t even in the planning stages for the 2020 race yet. FBE was actually ramping up for its annual Spring Gala, which is our biggest fundraiser, and which ended up getting cancelled. At the time I remember thinking that ‘surely things will have sorted themselves out by October’ and that we’d be able to do the race per usual: in person, sponsor booths, Donna Ognibene’s workout, DJ Paul Madden, the whole bit. That turned out not to be the case, however. 

Question: Was there ever a thought of cancelling the event like so many other organizations did?

Roberts: We did discuss cancelling the event, of course, or postponing it. A couple of things pointed us towards a virtual event. First: the race is an outdoor event and one that – just looking at the race piece of it – doesn’t require face to face or close contact. Second: we had seen other yearly race events “go virtual,” so we knew that was an option. Finally, we really felt like it was important to the community to keep this fall tradition alive. We understood that it was going to be a different year, regardless. But we felt like the more we could do to keep things the same, the better. With that in mind: we decided to plan for a virtual event and even to stick to our Couch to 5K program, though in virtual format, also.

Question: So when and how did the virtual race concept started in earnest?

Roberts: I’d say the virtual event was on the table all along. We had a kick off meeting back in the May timeframe and basically the three options were: cancel, do some form of in-person event (circumstances allowing) or do a virtual event. What we did then was to reach out to the Town Administrator Patrice Garvin and Wesley Chin at Belmont Health Department and get their thoughts on the feasibility of an in person event: whether we might do a smaller event or whether we could structure the day of in such a way to keep people physically distanced. Essentially the guidance was: no races of any size until we have a vaccine. We were pretty sure that wasn’t going to be October, so at that point we made a commitment to doing the run virtually.

Question: What has been the response from the community? 

Roberts: The response has been tremendous. We had 340 runners as of Thursday, which is far above what we were expecting. The Foundation has also been really touched by the continued support of our sponsors:

  • CitySide Subaru, our Platinum Sponsor again this year,
  • Belmont Orthodontics, 
  • Shant Banosian/Guaranteed Rate, 
  • John Rogaris,
  • Belmont Center Business Association,
  • Belmont Chinese American Association.

Donna Ognibene at Triogo stepped up and will record a virtual workout for all our runners. These are very difficult time for small businesses and families, so this support has been really inspiring. 

Question: You have included a few special extras to the race.

Roberts: We decided to take advantage of the virtual format to have some fun with our prizes. Because runners have 10 days to do the race, rather than an hour, we wanted to recognize and celebrate all the fun and funky ways people can do the Apple Run – running it multiple times, running it in a funny costume (not exactly a new thing), doing the race slooowly and so on. We’re also going to be celebrating runners all through the week on social media.

Question: Explain the importance of the race to the technology fund and also as a community event during a pandemic. 

Roberts: The Apple Run has become one of the Town’s biggest annual events and one of the FBE’s most popular traditions. The race has raised more than $150,000 for the FBE and its Innovative Teaching Initiative. With all of the challenges and new costs that COVID has created for the community and our public schools, having an organization like the FBE becomes even more important. We think its critical right now to provide a bit of normalcy for the community. We’re really looking forward to seeing Apple runners out on the streets in the coming days! 

OpEd: Is Remote Learning Model Safer And Does It Reflect Our Aspirations As A Community?

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Photo: Remote learning

By: Jamal Saeh, Maysoun Shomali, Kelly Chiu

Advocates for reopening schools believe that Belmont is ready to open school per the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education guidance.  The majority of Belmont parents voted for the hybrid model.  A number of us have worked on solutions to improve the air circulation in Belmont school buildings, and proposed strategies for surveillance testing, and daily symptom reporting & temperature checks as tools to further reduce the risk of coronavirus infection for students and staff.  

Public schools should provide remote learning as an option for those families who have risk factors requiring them to keep their children at home.  It must not however limit the opportunities for the rest of the Belmont community who, in trusting the experts, believe that what is best for their families is a meaningful return to school. Similarly, remote learning cannot become the default option through measures that handicap the hybrid models, limiting in-person instructional time to six hour a week despite having initiatives like surveillance testing that can help increase the number of hours students can safely spend with their teachers and peers.  Advocates for remote learning say “remote is an extreme action to an extreme situation;” we say solutions built on extreme fear beget extreme policies, and are rarely effective.  

The Boston Globe reported on how state emergency child care centers managed the COVID-19 infection risks. By following the state guided risk mitigation countermeasures, only nine out of the 550 centers had more than a single infection between March and May 2020. Remarkably, this was both during a time when the state was practically in lockdown, and at centers that were catering to children of essential workers, who are perceived to be at the highest risk of infection. This good news suggests that the state guided risk mitigation plans enable the safe reopening of Belmont schools.  

A recent publication in Science questioned the effectiveness of school closures. Researchers observed that “given the near universal closing of schools in conjunction with other lockdown measures, it has been difficult to determine what benefit, if any, closing schools have over other interventions.” Further, they conclude “[t]here is now an evidence base on which to make decisions, and school closure should be undertaken with trepidation given the indirect harms that they incur. Pandemic mitigation measures that affect children’s wellbeing should only happen if evidence exists that they help because there is plenty of evidence that they do harm.”

Some claim that remote learning options are the safest option for families and teachers, but what does the evidence tell us?  Scientists at Stanford University analyzed real-world-evidence of Covid-19 infections after schools reopened around the country.  Data collected over a two week period from 598 schools in 46 states, 353,311 students, and 41,628 staff show that the risk of infection to students and teachers is low across all school opening plans.  The data were reported by 64% of public schools, the rest were by private or independent schools.  To a large degree, the mitigation plans implemented in these schools were similar to Belmont Public Schools (BPS).  Mitigation strategies reported included less than 90 percent of students and staff masking, 79 percent of schools reported increased ventilation and 72 percent reported cohorting. Only 8 percent of schools had staff tested before the start of school. The summary in Figure 1 shows that the risk to teachers and students are not too dissimilar across models. The suspected and confirmed COVID-19 infections among staff in Remote and “All In Person Full Capacity” was 0.37 percent and 0.31 percent respectively.  Said differently, staying at home does not appear to reduce the staff risk of infection to zero and is likely similar to the risk of going to school in person.  Risk mitigation measures at schools are effective in reducing the risk.  Further, it suggests that children are not vectors of community infection, consistent with a body of evidence that indicates that infection rate in K-12 schools reflects the prevalence in the community. This is reassuring data and supports the reopening of Belmont schools. It also invites the Belmont School Committee, the administration and the community to examine other risks and issues specific to the remote learning model.

Figure 1: Incidence of Covid-19 infection published in  National COVID-19 School Response Data Dashboard accessed 27Sep20.

It will take years to fully assess the impact of remote learning on children’s emotional and physical wellbeing.  The American Academy of Pediatrics led a push for students to be physically present in classrooms rather than continue in remote learning and was reflected in the CDC recommendation.  A CDC report revealed that as of late June 2020, anxiety disorders had tripled compared to 2019.  A survey of case studies in local hospitals and schools suggest that “Boston has a looming public health crisis” and that “children are not OK”. There is published data that support the AAP position to send kids back to school.  One study showed the risk of depression and suicide in children decreased when schools reopened. Another study showed that during quarantine, home had become more dangerous than schools.  More domestic accidents were reported requiring emergency visits, with a higher incidence of accidents than in the previous three years.  With the Covid-19 infection risk being so low to both children and teachers, the school committee and the administration must confront how their school opening plans are compromising the mission of public education.

It is important that we reflect on less technocratic critiques of remote learning that are fundamental to our aspirations as a public school system and a country. Remote learning rewards the economically privileged and disadvantages the rest, particularly people of color.  Consider the solutions that are at the disposal of those more able to manage the negative aspects of remote learning: the formation of “pandemic pods,” hiring professionals to quarterback their children’s remote education, and staying at home to supervise their children’s learning are just a few examples.  While we may want to consider these as personal and benign in nature, they exclude the people that public education was designed to support, and worse, have the potential to perpetuate racial inequities.  In an era when, rightly, Belmont Public Schools has championed a focus on equity and restorative justice, we must consider the placement of remote learning in the troubled history of public schooling in this country: It is part of a continuum of “white flight” that weakens public schools and presents obstacles to integration efforts and equity.  

By choosing hybrid, Belmont is saying we’re better than this.

Jamal Saeh, PhD is the Executive Director and Global Program Leader in early clinical oncology group at Astrazeneca. He is a Belmont parent to two Belmont High students.

Maysoun Shomali is a principal scientist and lab head at Sanofi. She is a Belmont parent to two kids in the public schools.

Kelly Chiu, MD FAAP is Assistant in Medicine, Division of General Pediatrics and Instructor in Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School.  She is a parent to two school aged kids.

Former Belmont High Boys’ Swim Coach Charged With Taking Inappropriate Photos

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Photo: James Saidnawey during his time as head coach of Belmont High Boys Swim team

The coach who in 2018 led the Belmont High Boys Swimming and Diving team to its first Middlesex League regular season title in two decades was arrested last week in Eastham, Mass on charges that he took inappropriate photographs of teenage girls, according to a report in SwimSwam.

James Saidnawey, 29, has been charged with two counts of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual contact, Eastham police said in a statement. They also indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges may be filed.

Saidnawey was arraigned on Sept. 23 in Orleans District Court and was released on $1,000 bail. He is set to return to court on Nov. 23 for a pretrial hearing.

Police seized several electronic devices from Saidnawey’s home and interviewed multiple potential victims before making the arrest, according to the news report.

According to SwimSwam, Saidnawey was hired during the summer as a 4th grade teacher at Eastham Elementary School. Nauset Regional School District Superintendent Thomas Conrad reported that district officials knew about the investigation before classes started on Sept. 16, and while he participated in some staff meetings, Saidnawey never had any contact with students.

After his one year at Belmont High School, Saidnawey worked as a 5th grade teacher in Newton Public Schools and coached the Newton North High School girls swim team.

Wednesday’s High Winds Create Outages In Belmont

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Photo: Downed trees due to high winds are causing power outages this morning

Gusty winds are the cause of a number of moderate sized outages throughout Belmont on Wednesday morning, Sept. 30.

Belmont Light reported two distinct outage areas on the east and on the west side of town. One is located in and just to the south of Belmont Center while the other is in the Bright Road/Concord Avenue intersection.

Outage map of Belmont, Sept. 30.

“The outage on the west side of town was caused by a fallen tree on Concord Avenue,” reported the utility. It said customers in the Douglas and Gale area will be out longer as additional repairs are made.

Most customers in the Bright Road/ Baker Street neighborhood should have the lights back on by 9:30 a.m.

Belmont Superintendent John Phelan issued an email saying that the district was aware of a power outage impacting several neighborhoods in Belmont with power to be restored by approximately 10:30 a.m.

“The School Administration, principals, and teachers are aware of the inability of some students to access the internet due to these outages. Please know there is no culpability for students who are in this situation, and when power is restored, they can return to their classes,” said Phelan.

The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory early this morning that will last until 1 p.m. It said for residents of Eastern Massachusetts to expect southernly winds between 15 to 25 mph with gusts between 40 and 50 mph.

If you are experiencing an outage, CALL 617-993-2800. 

Penny Schafer, Economist and Civic Leader, Dies at 76

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Photo: Penny Schafer (family photo)

Penelope “Penny” Schafer, a well-respected environmental economist who lived most of her life on Lewis Road, was known by her family and friends for being “generous almost to a fault,” willingly providing her time and energy to the service of her church, community and civic groups in her hometown of Belmont.

Schafer – who always went by Penny – died on Aug. 26, 2020 in Portland, Me. She was 76. The cause was a stroke suffered at her vacation home in Jefferson, Me.

“She leaves behind a legacy of making the world a better place at both the national and local level,” remembered one of her clients who she worked with at Cambridge-based Abt Associates.

Schafer’s colleagues at Abt recalled her as an amazing mentor, smart, funny, and, most of all, wise. She had an amazing capacity for kindness, while pushing her colleagues to be better than they knew they could.

Schafer was nationally known for her work on the dangers of lead paint and their abatement, working principally with the US Environmental Protection Agency. She conducted risk assessments of the environmental impacts of lead and other pollutants such as mercury and asbestos on the environment, and performed impact and cost-benefit analyses of proposed environmental regulations. She also developed an early Web-based lead database which provided organizations and families with access to data on childhood lead poisoning and facilitated interdisciplinary collaboration in the effort to prevent childhood lead poisoning.

Although she never sought the spotlight, Schafer was dedicated to her community and invested great time and energy in making it a better place for all. She served as an elected Town Meeting Member for 38 years. In addition, she was on the town’s Warrant Committee, which oversees the town budget, including chairing the committee for a period. She also played a vital role on Belmont’s Senior Center Building Committee and the Council on Aging including being its president. 

Schafer was also a dedicated member and officer of the Belmont League of Women Voters, most recently serving on its board and as its treasurer. She also devoted serious time to the First Church in Belmont, serving in various roles since joining around 1978, including most recently on the Parish Board and a just completed six-year tenure as its treasurer. She was an active long-term member of her Radcliffe College Class Reunion Committee.

Schafer was born on April 10, 1944 and grew up in LaGrange, Ill. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1966 and earned a doctorate in Urban Planning with a concentration in Economics from Harvard University in 1976. 

While in graduate school she fell in love with Robert Schafer, and they were happily married for 50 years, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary on Aug. 23, three days before she died.

Schafer is survived by her husband, a son, Karl, and two brothers, Gale and Brad, and their families.

The family is establishing a Penny Schafer Memorial Fund at the First Church in Belmont, 404 Concord Ave., Belmont, MA 02478, to which contributions can be made in lieu of flowers or other gifts. A memorial service will be held once the Covid-19 virus subsides and in person gatherings are again possible.

Positive COVID Case Detected At Winn Brook

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Photo: The Winn Brook Elementary School

A member of the Winn Brook Elementary community tested positive with COVID-19, according to the Belmont Department of Health.

The Health Department confirmed on Monday, Sept. 28 that either a student or staff member at the school located at the corner of Waterhouse Road and Cross Street has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to Belmont Superintendent John Phelan.

“I am grateful for the proactive, swift, and responsive measures that have been taken to ensure the safety of everyone in the Belmont Public Schools community, and I thank you for your partnership,” said Phelan in an email to the district and community

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines, the infectious period for COVID-19 is two days prior to becoming symptomatic or, if asymptomatic, two days prior to testing. Beth Rumley, Belmont Public School’s director of nursing determined the school community member was not present at school during their infectious period. Therefore, no close contacts were identified among the school community in this situation.

Phelan said the district has taken the following steps after the notification:

  • The Belmont Department of Health and Rumley immediately began case investigations.
  • The district has planned for such a scenario during its reopening planning process and have a comprehensive plan in place. All of those protocols have been implemented.
  • To further prevent transmission of the virus to other staff and students, the district sanitized the school with a focus on the areas frequented by the community member that tested positive.
  • The Winn Brook student body and staff that are in school have been closely adhering to the safety protocols, including mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing. 

“We are grateful to our families for their continued efforts to keep students at home at the first sign of symptoms.  These measures, taken in combination, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission.

Spit, ‘Poop’ Or Both: School Committee Explores Testing Options In Push Towards In-School Learning

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Photo: Mirimus Labs image

The Belmont School Committee took the first steps in implementing a testing regime that could spur students to return full-time to the classroom.

Promoted by School Committee Chair Andrea Prestwich and a group of parents acting as ad hoc advisors, testing would provide students and teachers the necessary “peace of mind” as they prepare to reenter schools.

“One thing that will add considerably to the safety of in-person learning is surveillance testing,” said Prestwich, as the committee unanimously supported a proposal for the school administration to look at the feasibility and logistics of surveillance testing at Belmont Public Schools.

The School Committee will update the testing proposals at its Tuesday meeting, Sept. 29.

Kate Jeffrey, a Harvard-affiliated academic scientist and the parent of a Burbank first grader, presented a plan created by fellow parents, Jamal Saeh and Larry Schmidt, that recommends the district continue its safety and health protocol such as proper social distancing and wearing masks with weekly surveillance tests and contract tracing through the town’s Health Department.

Both Jeffrey and Prestwich said the lack of guidance by the state and the federal government on the use and type of surveillance testing has forced Belmont’s hand on moving on its own to establish its own standards.

Unlike diagnostic tests that are performed on individuals who have symptoms, surveillance testing seeks out the infection within a population which in Belmont’s case will be the school district.

While the CDC does not promote its use, “surveillance testing is the only way to bring [the school district] back to normalcy,” said Jeffrey.

Not that Belmont is that far from putting students back into the classrooms. With biweekly community data showing a less than one percent infection rate per 100,000 residents and school-age rates less than a half of one percent, Jeffrey said the anticipated current number of positive COVID-19 cases of the 5,000 students in the district would be three.

And while it would be optimum that there would be no risk, Jeffrey said that is simply unrealistic so the best can be done is to reduce the overall risk with surveillance testing to increase the amount of time students can stay in class.

While most people will associate COVID-19 testing with a swab rammed into the nasal cavity, methods have advanced where saliva – drawn into a straw than placed into a container – is used to extract the RNA that are highly specific pinpointing the virus. While there are false positives at about 3 percent – Jeffrey noted half of peanut allergy tests produce false positive results – they can be detected when the individual goes to their physician.

The recommended affective options available would be fast test produced by Mirimus Labs which will analyze a pool of 25 saliva samples, about the size of a classroom, with the ability to identifying a positive case within 12 hours. The Brooklyn-based firm can breakdown the large sample into pairs and determine which students will need to seek treatment.

Jeffrey said Mirimus can begin sample testing within two days after being selected. It would need two volunteers to collect the saliva and fill out the data forms for every grouping of 250 students.

After the first week in which all students and teachers would take the test to establish a baseline number, each subsequent week 10 percent of students – approximately 500 students – and all educators would be tested. The baseline test will cost $80,000 and the subsequent cost for the school year will be approximately $500,000.

Fundraising, possible federal or state expenditures and future lower cost testing could fund the proposal.

Jeffrey’s recommends the district start with the available Mirimus lab-based technology, than switching to a cheaper point-of-care approach when one becomes available likely by the end of the year.

While this new testing remains important for the community by supplying information on COVID, its greatest benefit “really has to be in returning students to the classroom,” said Jeffrey.

A second testing scheme – reviewed by Prestwich and Dr. Kate Rodriguez-Clark – is to sample the wastewater at the six school buildings. COVID is present in fecal matter so testing would involve the weekly collection of sewage from each school. The samples would be tested by a company like Biobot Analytics that can identify a single infection from the samples. The cost would be $8,500 a week for all buildings.

The advantage of using wastewater testing is it works well in tandem with the saliva testing in tracking the virus and it is easier to collect a sample. One negative is a person with the coronavirus must use the restroom at the school for the sample to register a positive case. Describing the dilemma resulted in Prestwich likely uttering the first mention of the slang definition of solid waste from the body in a future school committee minutes.

“The bottom line is that if the person who was infected with COVID doesn’t poop at school then we will not detect it … and that’s a drawback,” said Prestwich.

While calling the overall testing proposal “an exciting opportunity” to increase the peace of mind of educators and the public, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan said it will be a challenge to see how the district “operationalize” testing with the knowledge that the district has 4,500 student and 625 staff member between the ages of 3 and well past 60.

School Committee member Kate Bowen wondered aloud how necessary a costly surveillance testing regiment is for Belmont after the school district had “taken great steps in improving the buildings” including increasing the air flow in all school rooms and as the community has a very low rate of infection.

Prestwich noted that while the town’s “rates are low at this point … COVID increases exponentially if you don’t keep a lid on it.”

“Hopefully the precautions that we can take will prevent the numbers from shooting up,” she said.

Belmont Sees Uptick In COVID-19 Positive Cases But Town Remains In State’s Green Zone

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Photo: COVID-19 update

Belmont has seen an uptick in the number of positive cases of COVID-19 over the past two weeks but it has not effected the overall risk level in contracting the coronavirus according to the state.

According to the data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 Dashboard, Belmont has reported 264 positive cases as of Sept. 23, an increase of eight cases in the past 14 days. The latest data from the state shows a noted rise in cases from previous two week totals. Fore instance, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, Belmont had a single positive case.

As a result of the increase in positive cases, the town’s average daily incidence rate per 100,000 rose from below one percent to 2.1 percent. The jump in infection rates in Belmont is following the over all trend of greater positive cases in the state and in the US.

Despite the increase in mid-September, Belmont remains as a state designated “green” community with an infection rate of less than four percent per 100,000,

The color assigned to a community is based on the average of daily cases per 100,000 residents, red being the highest risk level followed by yellow, green, and white.

The number of COVID-19 deaths registered in Belmont continues to remain level at 60, with the last two deaths coming in late May.