Marlborough Board of Health hires permanent public health nurse, takes no vote on Veolia permit

MARLBOROUGH — August 3, 2020 — Marlborough Board of Health adds public health nurse as positivity edges above state rate. Chair Dr. Joseph Tennyson and Public Health Director John formally welcomed Michelle, a 10-year Marlborough Hospital nurse already embedded with the board since March 15, to the long-vacant permanent role. The city has logged 1,043 COVID-19 cases since February with 66 deaths — roughly 55 in long-term care — and 29 active cases. Two-week positivity stands at 2.56 percent, above the state's 1.7 percent, while the three-site Stop the Spread free testing program has run 6,644 tests at 0.72 percent positivity through its scheduled Aug. 14 end. Tennyson, citing a Massachusetts effective reproduction number of 1.11, said, "That is not how you make an epidemic or pandemic go away." The board took no vote on a Veolia Environmental DEP general-permit notification for on-site storage of containerized recyclables, agreeing only to forward a rodent-control comment.