Message from Commissioner McCosh: Staying vigilant

Dear Disability Community Members, 

It’s hard to believe we are already in August. With time flying by, we will do a bit of a recap in this week’s message. We have packed a lot of links to additional information into this one so please take some time to dig in.    

As you all know July was the 30th anniversary of the signing of the American’s with Disabilities Act. Our office held an ADA Virtual Rally and March last month that brought hundreds of people together from all over to discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion. Since then, the video has been viewed by thousands of people. Participate in the rally by watching the recording and join the call to action by participating in the 2020 Census, and voting in this year’s elections. As a reminder, voting by mail is available to all voters for all elections in 2020. You do not need a reason to vote by mail this year but you do need to fill out an application so make sure you take a look at the vote by mail information.   

As we see the numbers of COVID-19 cases increase across the country, I was to assure you that the City of Boston is doing everything it can to continue to combat this pandemic. After our initial spike, we have worked hard to get our numbers low and keep them there. Keeping the number low has allowed us to cautiously reopen many aspects of the City. While reopening may feel like we are finding our “normal” it does not mean the virus is gone. While it is tempting to let our guard down after doing this for so long, we must stay vigilant. Staying vigilant is the only way we continue to keep our numbers low and ensure that any increase in cases that we see is only a blimp and not the beginning of a spike. 

So how do we stay vigilant? We do what we have become experts in doing over the past few months: we wear masks, we stay six feet from others and we wash our hands frequently with soap and water. Testing continues to be important to both individual health and safety as well as limiting community exposure and spread. Testing is readily available throughout Boston at more than 20 testing sites which you can find here: Map of Testing Sites in Boston. If you are not located in Boston, the State also has a map of testing locations throughout the Commonwealth: Getting Tested in MA.  

Finally, last week we discussed the hot weather and how to manage the heat while also being safe in regards to COVID-19. It looks like this week will continue to be sunny and hot so please make sure to keep cool and refer to Boston.gov/heat for information and resources.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us if you need assistance. You can dial 311 to reach City Hall, or call us at 617-635-3682. Our email is disability@boston.gov and the latest updates are available at Boston.gov. 

Until next week, please stay informed, stay safe, and stay healthy.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Kristen McCosh