Brookline Coronavirus: Task Force Holds Virtual Town Hall

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline's COVID-19 Task Force will hold a virtual town hall at 5 p.m., today in an effort to update residents on the latest efforts to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. (See the video below).

In Brookline, officials announced that during the emergency, emergency parking rules were in place. The Town has also asked that construction halt for the time being.

The virtual town hall comes as state public health officials reported Tuesday there are 218 cases of coronavirus across the commonwealth. The numbers come as the governor announced that all cases that previously categorized as presumptive positive will now be considered positive. Of the 218 cases as of Tuesday, 43 of them were situated in Norfolk County.

Of the total number of cases across the state, 102 of them are believed to have come from the Biogen conference in Boston in February, 33 of the cases are deemed to have come from "local transmission," and 24 are related to travel. Some 59 cases are still under investigation.

Town Hall Closed At 5 p.m.

In Brookline, officials announced Tuesday that Town Hall will close to the public 5 p.m. Town services and operations will continue, but will be handled remotely via telephone and email. Only emergency-designated town personnel, including those supporting the work of the town’s Emergency Operations Center, will be reporting to work. All other town employees who can do so will work remotely until further notice.
Residents can still conduct transactions online via brooklinema.gov. A listing of departmental contacts can be found here.

Emergency Parking Rules in Place

During the local state of emergency, which was declared Monday in town the Brookline Police Department will not be enforcing two-hour parking zone regulations, the overnight parking ban or parking meter stays, town officials announced Tuesday.

Police will still ticket anyone for the regular safety related violations, and other parking violations including those who park in front of a fire hydrant, crosswalk, bus stop, or within an intersection. They'll also still ticket you for parking in a handicap spot or parking for longer than 15 minutes in a takeout / delivery parking zone.

Construction Suspension

Brookline officials have asked that property owners, condominium associations and management companies voluntarily suspend all active construction projects, mirroring a ban in Boston.

“Temporarily suspending all construction work will help to free up town and public safety resources to direct their full attention to mitigating the public health emergency posed by COVID-19,” Town Administrator Mel Kleckner said.

Tuesday's Virtual Town Hall

Watch the task force, which is made up of Brookline's Health director, police chief, fire chief and town administrator, update residents.

Residents submitted questions on Facebook and also on Twitter using the hastag #AskBrooklineCOVID19.

A number were also able to participate by emailing selectboard@brooklinema.gov.

Catch up>> Brookline Declares State Of Emergency, Limits Lines To 10