Historical Society Seeking Residents To Share Experiences In A Time Of Pandemic

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Photo: Sharing your experiences during this pandemic.

The Belmont Historical Society is asking residents to be part of history by sharing their experiences during this extraordinary time of pandemic.

The Society is reaching out to the local community to help document how covid-19 is affecting everyday life in relation to families, homes and lifestyles in an invaluable first-hand account for future generations.

“We are reminded that we who live today are making tomorrow’s history,” said Viktoria Hasse, president of the Historical Society, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2020.

Similar efforts in other towns have included collecting photographs, home videos, short written accounts and other creative expressions that capture the now circumstances.   

Examples of ideas the Historical Society is looking for include:

  • turning kitchen tables into a home office so they can work from the house,
  • waiting in long lines at the grocery store,
  • leaving food on the doorstep of a parent or relative,
  • keeping their distance from others by staying within the taped marks on floors of local businesses,
  • remembering to wear a mask in public, and
  • being prevented from visiting family members who are in the hospital or skilled care facilities.

“I am sure that you have experienced some of the above as well some specific and more personal ways the current lifestyle restrictions are affecting you, your family and your community,” said Hasse.

You can send your submissions via our email address at, belmonthistory1859@gmail.com or to our postal address at,

Belmont Historical Society

P. O. Box 125

Belmont MA 02478

or visit us at our website: www.Belmonthistoricalsociety.org

[Update] Belmont Star Market Employee Dies Of COVID-19 As Town Registers 51 Deaths To Pandemic

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Photo: Belmont Star Market

An employee of the Belmont Star Market on Waverley Street has died of the COVID-19 virus, according to a press release dated Tuesday, April 21, from the supermarket’s parent company, Albertsons.

The employee, Cresencia Colletti, 70, last worked at the store on Palm Sunday, April 5, according to the company. According to press reports, Colletti, who emigrated from the Philippines to the US in the late 1970s, has three children and six grandchildren. She had been living with a family on Woodbine Road for more than 40 years.

“Our hearts are heavy, and our thoughts are with that associate’s family,” said the press release.

“This is a difficult day for the entire Star Market team,” said the release.

The news of the death of Colletti comes on the day the Belmont Health Department reported 51 people – many residents of Belmont Manor Nursing Home located near to the supermarket – have died of complications of the COVID-19 pandemic. The deaths break down as:

Deaths possibly related to COVID-19 (total) 51 
Unconfirmed  29
Confirmed by filed death certificates with the Belmont Town Clerk’s Office 22

COVID-19 Deaths Triple In Five Days To 39, Nearly All Linked To Belmont Manor

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Photo: Belmont Manor in Belmont

The number of deaths in Belmont related to COVID-19 has more than tripled from 13 on Monday, April 13 to 39 by Friday, April 17, according to statistics compiled by the Belmont Health Department and released by the town on Friday, April 17.

Many of those deaths have been linked to residents of Belmont Manor Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, the 135-bed facility on Agassiz Avenue, according to Wesley Chin, Belmont Health Department director.

On April 15, when Belmont had 31 deaths due to the coronavirus, 30 were Belmont Manor residents. In addition, 59 members of a staff of approximately 190 are COVID-19 positive, according to the management of Belmont Manor.

In an April 15 email sent to families with loved ones at the site, Stewart Karger, the Manor’s administrator, said “every death represents an enormous amount of loss to the families of these individuals. And because many of these residents have been with us for a longer period of time, this feeling of loss is something that we at Belmont Manor share.”

Belmont town officials have begun recording deaths as one of two categories: Unconfirmed and confirmed by filed death certificate.

As of April 17:

Unconfirmed  31
Confirmed by Filed Death Certificates with the Town Clerk’s Office 8

“The Town Clerk noticed that there is a discrepancy in the information about CVOID-19 related deaths reported to us and what is later listed on the individual death certificates,” said Chin. “This is a problem that many other municipalities are experiencing.” 

According to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, the reason the confirmed number is much lower than is that her office “can only account for the Death Certificates that are filed as official records of the Town of Belmont.”

“I share with the Health Department all death certificates recorded in Belmont that contain the word “COVID” anywhere in the numerous fields on the certificates,” she wrote in an email.

It’s also important to realize that death certificates in Massachusetts are recorded in two places, the place of death (the occurrence community) and the place of residence (the residence community).  If a person is a resident of Belmont and perhaps is transported for medical treatment to Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, the death certificate would be recorded in both Cambridge as the occurrence community and Belmont as the residence community.

Brownsberger, Rogers Holding Zoom Town Hall/Q&A On COVID-19 Thursday, April 16

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Photo: Will Brownsberger (left) and State Rep. Dave Rogers

State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Rep. Dave Rogers are hosting a Zoom Town Hall on Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. to discuss the state’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and answer questions submitted by viewers.  

To join the Zoom Meeting, link to this address: https://zoom.us/j/94791210043 Meeting ID: 947 9121 0043 

The Town Hall will also stream live on the Belmont Media Center’s website and Facebook page. 

‘Virtual’ Topping Off At Middle/High School Project Set For Late April

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Photo: Pouring cement onto the second floor of Area B.

Over the course of the past month, the coronavirus has forced many familiar activities to become virtual events via the internet including working from home, attending town meetings and school.

Now you can add to that list the traditional construction milestone of “topping off” the new Middle and High School project at Belmont High School set for the final week in April “or the first week in May, at the latest,” according to Mike Morrison, project manager for Skanska USA, as he spoke to the Middle and High School Building Committee on Thursday, April 9.

In pre-pandemic times, members of the construction team, the building committee overseeing the development and town officials would come together to celebrate the final steel beam being hoist into place. Everyone would sign their name to the beam while a small pine tree and Old Glory would be attached to the beam, reminiscent of an old fashion, barn-raising.

So keeping with the new realities, the topping off of the high school section and administration wings of the $295 million project will be done remotely, broadcasted to the community via the internet and on local cable.

But for those who will miss the hoopla, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan pointed out there will be a second topping off, this one for the project’s Middle School section in two to three years down the road.

Morrison took the time to revealed an extensive social distancing plan currently underway at the site due to the ongoing pandemic. Belmont continues to allow the building trades to work on the job where Boston and Cambridge have halted all construction activity due to the novel coronavirus.

“The thing that is on the front of everybody’s mind is COVID-19 and Skanska has taken to heart everything that has come through the CDC, the World Health [Organization] but also from [Gov. Charlie Baker’s] health and safety guidelines,” said Morrison.

In pursuit of keeping its subcontractors healthy, the firm has custom-built foot-controlled handwashing stations with hot and cold water that are more than six feet apart “where they can really clean up” when they arrive, before and after breaks and at the end of the day, said Morrison.

“We’re emphasizing and stressing the physical distancing. … which is still a difficult thing to adapt to” for many longtime construction workers, said Morrison. Skanska has filled the site with signs on keeping a safe distance and proper cleaning as well as instituting a 7 a.m. start of the day camaraderie building session that consists of stretching and flexing and announcements on the latest COVID-19 announcements.

Morrison provided a rundown of the construction highlights in the past month including the pouring of the first concrete slab with radiant heating tubing on the second story of “area B” which is the wing pushing out towards Harris Field. Steelwork in “area A” – the administration wing that juts out towards Concord Avenue – will for all intents and purposes be substantially completed” this week.

He also heralded “the huge accomplishment” of installing a massive 32-ton, 100-foot long steel truss that will support the interior bridge in Area C and D in the high school section.

One section of the job that committees have raised concerns is the installation of the infrastructure for the geothermal system. The drilling expenses in the first of three fields spiked recently adding $275,000 to the project cost in additional water management expenses which included added labor, material, and equipment.

“We’ve had some challenges” with drilling pipes “into the unknown of the underground,” said Morrison, who told the meeting that “we feel like we have enough education under our belts now” to handle future issues.

COVID-19 Cases Pass 100 As Belmont Manor Hit Hard During ‘Surge’

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Photo: Belmont Manor

The number of residents with confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 keeps rising in Belmont, passing into triple digits with the town’s nursing homes continuing to get hit hard.

As of Monday, April 13, the state’s Department of Public Health has confirmed that 113 residents have confirmed cases of the virus, according to Wesley Chin, director of the Belmont Health Department, speaking before the Belmont Select Board on April 13. So far, 13 deaths have been connected to the virus.

In Massachusetts, there has been a total of 122,049 positive cases and 844 deaths as of April 13.

Approximately half of the positive COVID-19 cases and all the deaths in town have been residents of Belmont Manor, the 135-bed nursing home and rehabilitation center on Agassiz Avenue. Across the US, facilities such as Belmont Manor that treat or house older adults are now considered “an accelerator” of COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said earlier this month.  

Chin told the board the numbers of positive cases in town will continue to rise for foreseeable future.

“We are in the surge period,” Chin said, “so expect this number to continue to creep up pretty significantly over the next week to 10 days” which requires the continuation of social distance standards.

“It’s really important that people continue to keep vigilant and wear masks when out in public,” said Chin. And while the federal and state governments only recommends their use, “it really is something that is essential that people do especially in supermarkets, grocery stores, anywhere social distancing is difficult to do,” he said.

Select Board members said they collectively have seen people congregate around town, at the Cambridge Reservoir, around the perimeter of the Grove Street Park and walking on conservation land without regard to social distancing practices.

“People need to be serious about this,” said Adam Dash. “I think wearing a mask and keeping away from other people is a fair thing to ask at this point in time, especially when we heard [Chin] say we are in the thick of this thing.”

The number of confirmed cases in Belmont in March and April:

March 111
March 133
March 2710
March 3114
April 756
April 1195
April 13113

Breaking: COVID-19 Deaths Soar To 13 As Virus Sweeps Through Belmont Manor [REVISED]

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Photo: Belmont Manor.

Deaths in Belmont due to COVID-19 skyrocketed from 1 to 13 in four days as the coronavirus has swept through the Belmont Manor Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center, according to town officials on Saturday, April 11.

“The Town of Belmont has received confirmation that to date thirteen residents of the Belmont Manor Nursing Home have died due to complications of COVID-19 (Coronavirus),” said Jon Marshall, assistant town manager in a statement from the town.  

The number of positive cases of COVID-19 among residents confirmed by the state Department of Public Health has more than doubled since April 7 now at 95, with 56 coming from residents of Belmont Manor.

According to the Belmont Health Department, since COVID-19 testing began, 59 percent of residents testing positive reside in some type of long-term care facility. The remaining 41 percent of Belmont cases are due to community spread, meaning there has been no clear source of transmission. The virus is impacting residents of all ages.  

“The Town has been in daily contact with Belmont Manor for several weeks and has provided ongoing support in their effort to address the virus and its impact on the facility.  The Town of Belmont will continue to assist Belmont Manor as it goes through this difficult time,” according to Marshall.

“The Town is deeply saddened and expresses its condolences to the families and staff at Belmont Manor,” the statement read.

On April 7, Gov. Charlie Baker announced the launch of a new Nursing Home Family Resource Line. The dedicated telephone line is staffed 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. This resource was created so that family and community members have one central contact that they can reach out to if they have questions or concerns about the care their loved one is receiving during the COVID-19 outbreak. Family and community members can call the line at 617-660-5399.

The number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases continues to rise throughout the state and in Belmont. On April 1, Belmont had 16 cases, a week later, on April 7, it had doubled to 35.

Testing

If you have symptoms, and you believe that you should be tested for COVID-19, first contact your healthcare provider. They will decide whether you need to be tested, but keep in mind that there is no specific treatment for COVID-19 and people who are mildly ill may be able to isolate and care for themselves at home. 

If your health care provider recommends that you should be tested, but their facility cannot offer the test, obtain a referral and contact one of the facilities on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health list of COVID-19 Testing Sites in Massachusetts.

Keep in mind that you may need to undergo an additional eligibility screening before you can be tested, and that these sites require an appointment, they do not take walk-ins.

Face Coverings 

The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending that individuals wear cloth face coverings when in public settings (i.e. grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.) where it may be difficult to safely engage in social distancing practices.  This recommendation from the CDC is due to increased evidence of asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.  This refers to the transmission of the virus from a person who does not develop symptoms.

To help prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is important for all Belmont residents to begin engaging in this practice when in public settings where they may encounter individuals with unknown health statuses.  It is equally important to continue engaging in social distancing practices and to remain at least 6-feet way from others when in public.  

Visit the CDC’s website to learn more about its recommendation for face coverings.

The CDC has also posted information on how to make your own face covering, including examples of both sewn and no sew patterns.

Grocery stores

On April 7, the MDPH released further guidance to promote social distancing at grocery stores. The new guidance requires that each grocery store limit occupancy to 40 percent of its maximum permitted occupancy level. It also sets out procedures by which staff should monitor occupancy levels. MDPH has posted new grocery store guidance on its website. 

Things to keep in mind when you go to the grocery store:

  • Follow guidance posted in-store and instructions from grocery store staff on social distancing.
  • Only send one person per family, leave children and other families members at home if at all possible.
  • Buy enough to extend how long you can go until your next trip, but don’t buy up too many of one particular item.
  • Shop at an off-peak time if possible. In the morning before 10 or 11 am tends to be the busiest time in many area stores at the moment.
  • Wear a face covering.

Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), is a national network of volunteers under the US Department of Health and Human Services. The Metro East MRC is the regional unit serving 18 communities, including Belmont. Currently, Metro East MRC volunteers are activated delivering food and medications, staffing call centers, and providing backflow to medical facilities in the region. Interested volunteers can sign up atwww.MAResponds.org by selecting “Metro East MRC” as their organization. Medical volunteers are also encouraged to join the “COVID-19 Response” team via MA Responds. Please contact Mia Nardini, Metro East MRC Coordinator, at 781-316-3177 or MetroEastMRC@Town.Arlington.MA.US with any questions.

Nursing Home Resource Line 

On April 7, Governor Charlie Baker announced the launch of a new Nursing Home Family Resource Line. The dedicated telephone line is staffed 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week. This resource was created so that family and community members have one central contact that they can reach out to if they have questions or concerns about the care their loved one is receiving during the COVID-19 outbreak. Family and community members can call the line at 617-660-5399.

Belmont COVID-19 Informational Call Center and Email

For general COVID-19 questions not specific to the Town of Belmont, all Massachusetts residents encouraged to call the state’s 2-1-1 hotline that is staffed by operators 24/7 and with translators available in multiple languages.  Residents with questions can dial 2-1-1 from any landline or cellphone or use the live chat option at the Mass 2-1-1 website. 

The Town of Belmont has also established a COVID-19 Informational Call Center to allow residents to ask non-medical questions specific to COVID-19 in Belmont. The call center will be staffed Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm the number for the call center is (617) 993-2222. Questions can also be emailed to: belmonteoc@belmont-ma.gov .

Please call 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. Calls should not be made to 9-1-1 to obtain information about COVID-19.

[The revised article has the correct number of deaths in Belmont at 13. An earlier version incorrectly noted the number at 19.]

Business Closed, Fined As Overtaxed Health Dept. Deals With COVID-19 Surge

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Photo: Masks are now advised for use by all citizens. (Credit: CDC/ Debora Cartagena)

A Belmont business was ordered closed and fined for violating the state’s non-essential business law as the town continues its efforts to steam the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wesley Chin, director of the town’s Health Department, told the Select Board during its meeting held via video conference on April 6, his department received word over the weekend that an unidentified establishment deemed non-essential was operating.

Gov. Charlie Baker issued COVID-19 order No. 21 on March 31 extending his original March 23 requiring all businesses and organizations in the state that do not provide “COVID-19 Essential Services” to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers, customers, and the public until May 4, 2020.

“We have since sent a cease and desist order and [issued] a $300 fine to the business owner,” he said.

“It’s not what we want to do, but we also want people to know that they need to help us take [the shut down] seriously,” said Chin. “We don’t have the time to give people warnings, it’s just going to go right to a violation notice with a fine.”

When asked by Select Board Chair Tom Caputo if he has the staff level needed to meet the needs of the community, Chin said in the last week, “we’re starting to really feel the pinch … and we’re treading water” as he and his staff are “trying our best to keep up with things” including responding to a high level of emails “from concerned citizens with a lot of great ideas.”

On a hopeful note, Chin said his office just received a second $10,000 grant from the state’s COVID-19 emergency fund. The $20,000 will be used “to bring on additional nursing help … for the department to get through the duration of this difficult time.”

In his update on the COVID-19’s impact in Belmont, Chin reported 41 confirmed cases by the state’s Department of Public Health of the novel coronavirus as of Monday, April 6.

There has still been only one death – that of a resident of living at Belmont Manor, a rehabilitation and nursing facility – attributed to COVID-19.

Saying he hopes he doesn’t sound like a broken record, “[w]e do believe there are more cases out there that are positive” for the virus, warning that asymptomatic (the lack of any symptoms) spread of COVID-19 can occur.

“There are people walking around that seemed perfectly healthy that may not have any awareness but they’re spreading the virus to other people in the community,” said Chin, who reiterated the importance of social distancing, whether it is indoors at a supermarket or pharmacy or outside.

Chin also advocated the use of face coverings when leaving the house, again both when residents are inside and outdoors.

Bag Your Trash To Help Out Those Who Take It Away

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Photo: Waste Management truck

Washing your hands, putting on a cloth mask and staying indoors; those are acts all people should be doing to protect themselves and others during this long pandemic.

Add to that list one more thing: Bag your trash.

That’s the advice coming from Waste Management, the town’s trash and recycling hauler.

According to the national collector, due to increased concerns for worker safety due to the COVID-190 coronavirus, residents are being asked to place all household trash into large trash bags before placing them into the black carts and taking them to the curb for collection. The company also asks that all bags are properly sealed to prevent contents from spilling out as it is placed into the trucks.

The company reminds all customers that latex and other gloves used to protect individuals from spreading the virus be placed in the trash; they do not belong in the blue recycling containers.

First Death To COVID-19 In Belmont, Infected Cases Doubled In Three Days

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Photo: Belmont Health Department

The Belmont Health Department announced the first death of a Belmont resident related to COVID-19 in a press release dated Thursday, April 2.

The victim was a resident at a long-term care facility in Belmont, said Wesley Chin, Belmont’s Health Department director.

As of April 2, Belmont has 32 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. The number of positive residents has more than doubled since 14 residents were confirmed on March 30.

While he did not identify the facility, Belmont Manor in the Waverley neighborhood acknowledged this week that it had a confirmed case.

“This patient developed symptoms consistent with COVID-19 while they were at the long-term care facility, and was transported to a local hospital for more advanced care where they died,” said Chin.

Chin said the facility has 14 residents who are confirmed positive cases.

Chin said that due to the infectious nature of COVID-19, “the long-term care facility is dedicating a wing of the facility to isolate patients suspected to be positive with the virus. The facility is also designating staff that will only work with patients exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.”

Staff of the long-term care facility is working with Belmont town departments (Belmont Emergency Management Agency [BEMA], Health Department, Fire Department EMS) and state agencies (Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency [MEMA], Massachusetts Department of Public Health [MDPH], and Massachusetts Bureau of Health Care Safety & Quality) to continue to identify all contacts and to proactively implement infection control measures to prevent spread.

To identify any additional patients positive for COVID-19, BEMA has requested assistance from MEMA to request that the Nursing and Rest Home testing program operated by the National Guard and MDPH conduct patient testing of all residents in the long-term care facility.

For updated information and news on the COVID-19 virus, go to https://www.belmont-ma.gov/home/urgent-alerts/covid-19-information-for-the-town-of-belmont-find- all-updates-here .