News

Hundreds of Cambridge residents have learned they were infected with COVID-19 or had been exposed to the new coronavirus after getting a call from public health nurses from the Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD). Thousands more have received calls from CPHD staff informing them of negative test results.

One of Cambridge’s earliest actions in response to the emerging public health crisis was Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis A. DePasquale activating the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families in Cambridge experiencing extreme financial hardship. Since March, more than $4.7 million in donations have been received from hundreds of generous residents and local corporations.

The Gold Star Pool is now open for swimming 7 days per week, from 11:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Use of the pool is free and only open to Cambridge residents.

In July, the City Manager’s Office in collaboration with the Cambridge Public Health Department launched the Cambridge Community Corps program, which was developed to help encourage Cambridge residents to adopt and keep practicing safe habits, such as wearing a mask and maintaining good hand hygiene, which will help slow the spread of COVID-19. The Corps Members will be giving positive reinforcement on healthy behaviors and having friendly and helpful interactions with their neighbors.

In order to provide increased voting options in response to COVID-19, 950 House Bill 4820 was passed and signed into law as Chapter 115 of the Acts of 2020 “for the immediate preservation of public health and convenience.” Accordingly, early voting is available to all voters for the State Primary, September 1st and the State/Presidential Election, November 3rd. Early voting is available by mail and in person to all registered voters and no excuse is required.

Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale announced today that the City of Cambridge has entered into an agreement with Spaulding Hospital-Cambridge, Inc. to create a City-funded temporary emergency homeless shelter in the east wing of the facility located at 1575 Cambridge Street.

Governor Charlie Baker announced a new set of initiatives aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, especially in higher risk communities that have seen a recent uptick in cases. While Massachusetts has seen a decrease in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations since May, there has been a slight uptick in certain communities in recent days.

All visitors and Massachusetts residents returning home, including students returning to campuses for fall semester, must fill out a “Massachusetts Travel Form” and quarantine for 14 days unless they are coming from a COVID-19 lower risk state or can produce a negative COVID-19 test result administered no more than 72 hours prior to arriving in Massachusetts. Effective Friday, August 7, Rhode Island is no longer listed as a lower-risk state.

The City of Cambridge today announced that all City-sponsored community events, athletic events, events permitted for the use of City parks, or other City-sponsored public gatherings will be cancelled through September 7, 2020, or postponed to a later date. All prior approvals for events or gatherings are revoked.

The City of Cambridge announced that over $1 Million in grants will be awarded through the Community Benefits Stabilization Fund. 106 nonprofit organizations (501c3) will receive $10,000 grants to provide services to vulnerable Cambridge residents during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery.