Joint Statement from North Shore Municipal Leaders and Public Health Officials

Over the last two weeks, municipal leaders, public health directors, and members of Boards of Health from nine communities in the North Shore have met with hospital presidents from North Shore Medical Center (Salem Hospital) and Beverly Hospital and consulted with a leading epidemiologist in order to review current COVID-19 case data and hospital capacity, and discuss whether communities should consider further roll backs to help reduce the post-holiday spread of the virus.

Essex County has the highest case counts in the Commonwealth and, with increasing COVID case counts happening throughout the North Shore, municipal officials are collectively concerned about overwhelming our local hospitals’ capacity. We are particularly troubled about impacts to our hardworking residents in the healthcare workforce. With little remaining capacity at our region’s hospitals, everyone is negatively affected, even if the reason for your hospital visit is not COVID-related.

At the current time, North Shore local leaders are deferring taking additional actions on rollbacks but remain committed to supporting our health care institutions and will continue to monitor case counts and hospital capacity on a daily basis. If case counts continue to increase, hospital admissions, whether for COVID or any healthcare need, will be compromised and further action by local officials may be necessary. Should case numbers rise, several communities in the region are prepared to restrict unnecessary indoor activities that may contribute to the spread of the virus.

North Shore municipal leaders, public health directors, and members of Boards of Health, along with health care leaders from NSMC and Beverly Hospital, strongly encourage all residents of the region to avoid non-essential, in-person activities with people not part of your household for the next several weeks. Even with reduced occupancy restrictions, these non-essential activities during a time period of rapidly rising community transmission should be avoided if at all possible. The next several weeks are crucial to our collective health as a region.

Everyone has worked so hard the last ten months and with vaccine distributions underway, we are hopeful that brighter days are ahead in 2021.

City of Beverly                                                          Town of Danvers

Mayor Michael Cahill                                                 Town Manager Steve Bartha

Health Director Bill Burke                                         Health Director Mark Carleo

City of Gloucester                                                     City of Lynn

Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken                                    Mayor Tom McGee

Health Director Karin Carroll                                     Health Director Michele Desmarais

Town of Marblehead                                                Town of Nahant

Town Administrator Jason Silva                                Town Administrator Tony Barletta

Health Director Andrew Petty                                    Health Director John Coulon

Jackie Belf-Becker, Chair of Bd of Selectmen

Todd Belf-Becker, Chair Board of Health

City of Peabody                                                         City of Salem

Mayor Ted Bettencourt                                              Mayor Kim Driscoll

Health Agent Sharon Cameron                                   Health Agent Dave Greenbaum

                                                                                    Dr. Jeremy Schiller, Chair Board of Health

Town of Swampscott

Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald

Health Agent Jeff Vaughan