TOWN OF PLYMOUTH BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING July 14, 2021 @ 4 ...

TOWN OF PLYMOUTH BOARD OF HEALTH MEETING

July 14, 2021 @ 4:00 PM MINUTES

The following Board of Health meeting was held on Wednesday July 14, 2021 at 4:00 PM via PACTV

Present

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Barry Potvin, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Chair

Nancy O'Connor Gantz, MS, RN, ANP-BC

Dennis Swift, RN

Rose Cain, FNP, MPH, JD

Excused Susan Ahern

Karen Keane, Public Health Director Margaret Coe, Administrative Assistant

Agenda

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? BOH Reorganization ? Approve Minutes of 6/23/21 ? Addressing Rodent Population ? Climate Emergency Declaration ? Water Safety ? Hoarding Task Force Presentation ? Short Term Rental Discussion ? COVID Update ? Director's Report ? Chairperson's Announcements ? New Business / Old Business

? Disclosure: These minutes are not verbatim ? they are the secretary's interpretation of what took place at the meeting. ? Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 30A ? 22.

? These minutes are a record as accepted by the Board of Health. ? All materials presented during this meeting are available in the Public Health Department. ? Administrative Business ? May include topics not reasonably anticipated by the Chair 48 hours in

advance of the meeting.

Pursuant to MA Senate Bill 2457 signed by Governor Baker on June 16,2021 which allows government bodies to continue to conduct meetings virtually until April 1, 2022, as long as members of the public can easily access the proceedings in real time and participate remotely, this meeting will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Specific information and the general guidelines for remote participation by members of the public and/or parties with a right and/or requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the Town's website, at . No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time, via technological means. If we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the Town's website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting.

4:01 PM Welcome

4:04 PM ? Board of Health Reorganization Position of Chair: Nancy O'Connor Gantz nominated Barry Potvin for Chair. Dennis Swift seconded the nomination. All in favor of closing the nominations. Unanimous vote to elect Dr. Potvin as Chair of the Board of Health. Position of Vice Chair: Nancy O'Connor Gantz nominated Dennis Swift. Dr. Potvin nominated Rose Cain. The members present decided to table voting until Ms. Ahern could be present for voting.

4:11 PM ? Approve Minutes ? 6/23/21

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On a motion by Nancy O'Connor Gantz and seconded by Dennis Swift, the board voted unanimously to approve the minutes. Voted: 3/0/1 (Ms. Cain abstained ? was not a board member at that meeting) 4:12 PM ? Addressing Rodent Population Karen Keane spoke about the increase of rodent complaints in Plymouth. She showed slides about the causes and how to take care of one's own property to discourage rodents. Ms. Keane added that Quincy has a budget for rodent control for single-family dwellings and that Plymouth may need to consider that for the future. 4:30 PM ? Climate Emergency Declaration Dale Bryan joined the meeting to discuss the Climate Emergency Declaration. The Board had reviewed the document prior to the meeting. On a motion by Rose Cain, seconded by Nancy O'Connor Gantz, the board voted unanimously to sign the letter of support. Voted: 4/0 4:44 PM ? Water Safety Dr. Potvin discussed the importance of water safety and its role in preventable drownings. 4:47 PM ? Hoarding Task Force Presentation Sarah Cloud and Terry Kourtz discussed the work that they do with hoarding situations within Plymouth County and the resources available. 5:02 PM ? Short-Term Rental By-Law Discussion Ida Parker, Kevin Martin, and Christine Bostek participated in the discussion with the Board of Health and the Public Health Department. They reviewed and discussed the draft regulations. 5:39 PM ? COVID Update Dr. Potvin displayed the latest updates and graphs. 5:53 PM ? Director's Report (See attached) 6:03 PM ? Chairperson's Announcements Dr. Potvin announced the recent Sackler/Purdue Pharma opioid settlement. 6:04 PM ? Adjournment On a motion by Rose Cain and seconded by Nancy O'Connor Gantz, the board voted unanimously to adjourn. Voted: 4/0

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July 28, 2021

Public Health Director's Bi-Monthly Report

Prepared for the Board of Health Members

Karen Keane, Public Health Director Town of Plymouth - Department of Public Health

COVID-19

? Plymouth: o 8 cases last week o Deaths: 151 o Cases :5178 o Active Cases: 6

? Mass Notify o MassNotify is a new service developed in partnership with Google and Apple to help slow the spread of COVID-19. o By opting in, your device will share anonymous codes with other MassNotify users using your phone's Bluetooth. o MassNotify codes contain no personal information or location data and are completely anonymous. o If another user you've been near tests positive for COVID-19 within a 14-day period, you will be notified. If you test positive, you can easily and anonymously notify others to stop the spread of COVID-19.

? Waterfront Festival o August 28 o Mobile Vaccination Clinic

? VAX Millions Register today for the VaxMillions Giveaway! We need your help to beat the pandemic in Massachusetts. If you're fully vaccinated against COVID-19, register today for your chance to win one of five $1 million prizes or $300,000 scholarship grants. Not fully vaccinated yet? Get your COVID-19 vaccine and then register as soon as possible for a chance to win.

SHORT TERM RENTALS

? 300 Short Term Rentals in Plymouth have registered with the State. ? 60 Short Term Rental agreements have been received by the Office. ? 7 Short Term Rentals are no longer used as Short Term Rentals ? 58 registered Short Term Rentals have Title 5 compliant septic systems.

CYANOBACTERIA

? Current cyanobacteria blooms o Hoyts Pond/Gunners Exchange Pond o Great Herring Pond

What are the health concerns associated with cyanobacteria?

A confirmation of cyanobacteria bloom does not necessarily indicate it is toxic. Cyanobacteria MAY give off microcystin toxins. However, all cyanobacteria blooms are treated as potentially toxic to ensure public health.

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? Skin irritation, stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pain, blisters of the mouth and liver damage.

? Swimmers in water containing cyanobacterial toxins may suffer allergic reactions, such as asthma, eye irritation, rashes, and blisters around the mouth and nose.

? Animals, birds, and fish can also be affected by high levels of toxin-producing cyanobacteria. ? If your animal goes into the water, be sure to rinse them off thoroughly ? If your animal ingests water and shows signs of illness, contact your veterinarian

Advisories are not lifted until the water has been consistently clear for TWO WEEKS

BEACH TESTING

All public beaches are now being tested. All public beaches have tested normal.

SWIMMING

Swimming is a great recreational sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. But it's important to know how to be safe while you're in the water. The American Red Cross offers these important swimming safety tips you should be aware of before you head out to the pool or beach:

? Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.

? Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone.

? Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child's life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.

? Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear coast guard approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.

? Maintain constant supervision.

? Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and learn-to-swim courses. Plymouth Recreation Department offers swim lessons. Please call the Department to register. 508-747-1620 x10137

? If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers. Many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time.

? Avoid distractions when supervising children around water.

? If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability. Page | 3

? Have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first aid kit.

? Know how and when to call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.

? Protect your skin. Limit the amount of direct sunlight you receive between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and wear sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15.

? Drink plenty of water regularly, even if you're not thirsty. Avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them

? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drowning is one of the leading causes of unintentional deaths in the United States.

? It's estimated that 10 people die each day as a result of drowning.

? Sadly, a large portion of those victims are would-be rescuers. Before attempting to rescue someone, always keep in mind reach, throw, row and don't go.

? Reach ? If someone near you is drowning, first try reaching out to him or her with something near you such as a

pool toy, branch, fishing pole or anything sturdy.

? Remember not to lean too far over and keep your feet firmly planted where you are standing to prevent yourself from falling in and also becoming a victim.

? Throw ? If the person is too far out to reach, throw something to them.

? Make sure you throw something that floats (e.g., an ice chest, life preserver, throw cushion, ring buoy, etc.).

? If possible, it is best to tie the object to something secure to pull in the victim.

? Row ? If reaching and throwing are not feasible and you have access to a boat, you can row to the victim.

? Don't Go ? Unless you are a trained professional in water rescue (e.g., a trained lifeguard), never go in after a victim.

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? A drowning person will try to climb on top of the rescuer, forcing them under the water in an effort to stabilize themselves and get air.

COOLING CENTERS

The Plymouth Public Library and the Center for Active Living are both available as cooling centers.

We know this is the time of year when you're receiving many questions about mosquitoes & ticks and the diseases they carry. MDPH has some excellent online resources we wanted to remind you about. Tick-related information can be found here:

dph/tick This website includes general information on ticks and common tick-borne diseases in Massachusetts, including fact sheets on a variety of tickborne diseases in multiple languages. Links to surveillance summaries for anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus infections and other diseases are available. You can also access our Tick Report published monthly which shows seasonal trends in reported tick bites and tick-borne disease diagnoses in Massachusetts residents. Mosquito-related information can be found here:

dph/mosquito This website includes general information on mosquitoes and common mosquito-borne diseases in Massachusetts including West Nile virus (WNV) infection and eastern equine encephalitis (EEE). You can find the latest information about where EEE- and WNV positive mosquitoes have been found, and EEE and WNV fact sheets in several languages.

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PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Eileen Walsh has joined the team as our new Part-Time Health Clerk. ALSCO Food Check has been awarded the Food Inspector Contract. All food establishment inspections are current. Positive feedback from establishments. Building a strong rapport. Collaborating with the Attorney General's office regarding abandoned properties with Sanitary Code violations. Reached out to Trash Haulers to get local contact information. Third most phone calls received in the Town Hall. All phone messages answered within 24 hours and all site inspections happen within 24 hours of receiving complaint.

This concludes the Director's Report for July 14, 2021

Karen Keane, Public Health Director Town of Plymouth 26 Court Street

Plymouth, MA 02360

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