Medford Coronavirus: 590 Cases, Drive-Thru Testing Returning

MEDFORD, MA — The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus continues to rise in Medford. As of Thursday, April 23, the case count stood at 590. After a jump by more than 100 over the weekend, the number of positive cases has risen incrementally throughout the week.

A city spokesperson told Patch the National Guard has assisted at Medford's three long-term care facilities at least five times over the past two weeks. There have been 45 deaths attributed to the coronavirus and 264 positive cases across the three facilities.

PhysicianOne Urgent Care is hosting a drive-thru testing clinic Saturday, April 25. The center is also offering testing to essential workers who are asymptomatic but continue to work.

To address community questions and concerns surrounding the coronavirus, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and Board of Health Director MaryAnn O'Connor will host a Q&A session this week, responding to questions submitted by the community throughout the week.

You can submit questions in any of the following ways:
• Share a question on the Mayor’s Facebook page (@Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn) or the City’s official page (Medford, MA, USA)
• Direct message the Mayor via Facebook (Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn)
• Email Covid19info@medford-ma.gov
• Tweet @MayorLungoKoehn
• Call 781-393-2409 or 781- 393-2408

Ways to Volunteer:

Medford is one of seven communities in the Mystic Valley Medical Reserve Corps, which is called to action during local and regional emergencies. Volunteers with both medical and non-medical backgrounds are encouraged to apply and will receive appropriate training.

You can also sign up to be a volunteer in the City of Medford without going through the MRC training. Information on all opportunities, with links to apply, is available at www.medfordma.org/volunteering.

Schools Will Not Reconvene This Academic Year:

The final few weeks of school in Medford will look radically different from previous years. On Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced what many assumed to be the inevitable – public and private schools will be closed through the end of the school year.

This means sports, after-school activities and special events like prom and graduation have all been canceled, or will be radically different as the district works to cope with the unprecedented state of emergency and stay-at-home advisory.

"We realize that this is a very difficult time for all families," the Medford Public Schools said in a statement. "We know this is hard for everyone – especially the Class of 2020. We are committed to finding ways to celebrate our Seniors and will be contacting families with more information."

Food distribution will continue from 12-1 p.m. Monday through Friday at the McGlynn School. For additional food resources, there are free meals and bags of food from pantries available for delivery. For access to this and other options, please go to the City of Medford's website at http://www.medfordma.org/.