Communicating About a Communicable Disease

            Three days before the Town of Marion confirmed its first COVID-19 case, Board of Health Vice Chairperson Ed Hoffer insisted the public gets that information immediately.

            In a March 27 emergency meeting of the Marion Board of Health via Zoom video conference, Hoffer, a practicing physician, said residents need no further information such as address, age or gender because the resulting precautions would be no different than the “stay at home” lifestyle already ordered by Governor Baker.

            “A single positive case is knowledge the public should have. There may be 20 people around town that have normal, winter upper respiratory (illnesses)… this is different legally,” Hoffer told the full board.

            It was pointed out that Hingham’s health nurse was besieged with panicked calls when that town’s first case was announced last week.

            “I know that if I had someone call me right now and wasn’t terribly sick, I’d say… ‘Stay home for 14 days and treat yourself,’” said Hoffer, pointing to over-the-counter treatments. “A lot of people are not taking (social-distancing practices) seriously.”

            Hoffer suggested that, once Marion has a positive case, the town should respond to any inquiries that it is not allowed to give further information and leave it at that.

            It was suggested that, given Hingham’s problems, the board might consider waiting until there are five cases, citing HIV and other diseases communicable by other people or insects.

            Hoffer said that coronavirus is different. “An innocent person does not get HIV by standing in line at the grocery store… you catch HIV because you made a decision to have sex with (an at-risk person),” he said.

            One thing the board apparently agreed on in Friday morning’s meeting was the belief that coronavirus was already in Marion and that it would be naive to think the absence of an officially documented case means the town is safe. That would become a moot point on Monday.

            Friday, the Board of Health moved on a motion for a 14-day quarantine request upon those entering the town from coronavirus hot spots, Town Administrator Jay McGrail and the Board of Health posted a message to the town’s website requesting “that all persons arriving in town from outside of Marion after visiting large metropolitan areas, airports, and other crowded areas, whether homeowners, seasonal residents or visitors, self-quarantine for a period of 14 days upon arrival.” The message also urged anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms to notify their doctor or call the Southcoast Health coronavirus hotline at 508-973-1919 and to refer to marionma.gov for updates.

            New York has been widely recognized as the hottest of hot spots for COVID-19 cases, but Board of Health Clerk Dot Brown suggested including Boston, Chicago, Detroit and “any big city” from which migrating people have begun arriving to area summer homes.

            In light of the $25,000 grant coming into the town from the state, Marion is working on a standard contract for the school nurse, a paramedic, and Council on Aging person.

            A main concern as Friday’s meeting drew toward its conclusion was tracking COVID-19 cases. It was agreed that the town will need to dedicate a person at least part time to track cases and form a central database of information.

Marion Board of Health Emergency Meeting

By Mick Colageo

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