State of the Town: Final Edition ... Latest COVID-19 news and developments

Last chance to purchase a Transfer Station sticker for fiscal 2021

Transfer Station stickers for the coming fiscal year went on sale June 1 and must be purchased by Tuesday, June 30, either at the town website or by mail. The cost is $130 for up to two stickers per household. There is no senior discount, but anyone who is 65 on or before June 30 and buys a sticker by then will receive 30 15-gallon bags. The bags will be delivered to their homes in July. 

Most previously closed areas of the Transfer Station are now open. These include residential bulky waste dumpsters and areas for recycling tires, batteries, refrigerators, air conditioners, and televisions. The take-it-or-leave-it area will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Use of the newly-reopened recycle areas, including the bulky waste dumpster,  requires purchase of a punch card. Punch cards are available by mail and must be purchased ahead of time. For a complete list of fees and instructions on how to buy a punch card, check out Harvard Transfer Station Rules And Regulations.

The expiration date of any card that was set to expire in March, April, or May of this year has been extended by three months. 

The 49th annual Harvard Flea Market is canceled

The 49th annual 2020 Harvard Flea Market, a major fall fundraiser for both the League of Women Voters of Harvard and the Harvard Schools Trust, is canceled. LWV President Meg Bagdonas announced the decision in an email Monday afternoon citing the risk of spreading COVID-19 as the principal reason.

The decision to cancel was made jointly by the LWV and the Harvard Schools Trust, Bagdonas wrote. “Based upon the best national, state, and local guidelines available today, increased virus recurrence, and fall virus projections, we believe this is the wisest and safest decision for all concerned.”

The event, typically held Columbus Day weekend, draws hundreds of vendors and attendees from the region. Cancellation is a major financial blow to the flea market’s nonprofit sponsors, wrote Bagdonas, making LWV dues and contributions to the Trust “that much more important so that we may continue our essential work.”

Key measures of COVID-19’s impact on Massachusetts residents continue to improve

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health assesses the state’s progress in containing the spread of COVID-19 by monitoring six indicators. As of Sunday, June 28, three were positive and the rest were tagged “in progress.” A key indicator, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, has dropped 73% since April 15 and averaged 769 on June 27, the lowest number to date.

The disease has claimed the lives of at least four current or recent Harvard residents, whose deaths are the only ones publicly attributed to the virus. But, because the Massachusetts Department of Public Health does not report deaths by town, the actual number of COVID-19-related deaths in Harvard is unknown. The most recent data showed 18 confirmed cases in Harvard since January.

Beware of scammers who pretend to be contact tracers

The Harvard Board of Health has warned that scammers are now pretending to be contact tracers.  Anyone who gets such a call asking for their Social Security number or health insurance information should  report it to the Board of Health or Harvard Police Chief Ed Denmark.  This information will be forwarded to the attorney general’s office, which is actively tracking and prosecuting such calls.

The Harvard Police Department is also warning that fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits have been filed by scammers; most victims learn of the claims when they receive notices in the mail from the office of Labor and Workforce Development, Department of Unemployment Assistance.  According to police, anyone suspecting a fraudulent claim should file an online report of the fraud with the state, inform local police, and check their credit report. Police told the Press last week, however,  that most people have not found credit problems resulting from the unemployment scam

Unemployment assistance is still available to self-employed and gig workers

Massachusetts residents who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits may still apply to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program at www.mass.gov/pua. 

Loaves & Fishes food pantry in Devens, which serves Ayer, Devens, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Littleton, and Shirley, is open for drive-thru pickups only. Hours are 9 a.m. to noon July 1, 8, 10, 15, 18, 22, 24, 29, and 31. 

Clients can visit the drive-thru service twice a month. All new clients must complete a phone intake and should call 978-772-4627, extension 312, to leave a message with  contact information.

Any Harvard resident (senior or not) who is a Loaves & Fishes client can call the Council on Aging at 978-456-4120 and ask for the COA van to deliver their order. Anyone who is ill or has been exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19 must send someone else to pick up their groceries. 

The pantry is in critical need of monetary donations to keep the shelves stocked. Donations of food or other supplies are not currently being accepted because of the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Monetary donations can be made online at loavesfishespantry.org/donate-now, or by mailing a check to Loaves & Fishes, P.O. Box 1, Ayer, MA 01432. 

COA Director Debbie Thompson says the Adopt-a-Senior program currently has enough volunteers. Seniors who would like to be matched with a volunteer who will check in with them regularly, make trips to the grocery store or pharmacy, or provide other assistance, should contact the COA at 978-456-4120.

Nextdoor Harvard has a Help Map feature, which allows residents to sign up to help neighbors or to get help from a neighbor who has signed up. The Help Map appears on computer browsers on the Nextdoor homepage in a box to the right of the main column. On the Nextdoor mobile app or in a mobile browser, it will be a choice in the “More” selection of the main dropdown window.

Tuesday, June 30, was Harvard’s 106th  day under the state of emergency declared on March 17.

Everyone must wear a face mask or other covering in public—including at  businesses, outdoor locations, and on public transportation— when they are unable to observe social distance guidelines. A  safer-at-home advisory replaces the former stay-at-home recommendation and encourages vulnerable members of the population, especially  older adults, to avoid nonessential travel outside the home. Everyone is encouraged to maintain 6 feet of separation in public, to be vigilant for symptoms of COVID-19, and to stay home if they are sick. Groups of more than 10 individuals are prohibited.

Contact tracing is used to track the contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients. If you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus, you will be called by someone from either the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health or from the state’s Contact Tracting Collaborative (CTC). According to the state’s website, phone calls from the CTC will use the prefix 833 or 857, and the name of the caller will be “MA COVID Team.” Calls will be made daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Residents might also receive a text from “MA COVID Team” prior to a phone call.

Federal, state, and town taxes 

• The federal and Massachusetts 2019 individual income tax filing and payment deadlines have been extended from April 15 to July 15..