On February 1st, the first confirmed case of COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, reached Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) confirmed this after performing tests on the man, who is a student at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

As of March 12th, there are 108 presumptive or confirmed cases within the Commonwealth. This comes after the DPH announced fifty-one new cases last Tuesday. The surge of seventy additional cases originated from the Biogen Conference that happened recently in Boston. In response to this, Governor Charlie Baker has declared a State of Emergency to allow the Commonwealth to access funding that would otherwise be unavailable. The state has also relaxed school attendance requirements, saying that they would only count attendance records up until March 2nd.

Up until Wednesday, BC High did little to respond to the crisis, repeating the usual messages, “wash your hands,” “stay home if you’re sick.” BC High is thinking logically about this Coronavirus situation, and is responding with necessary steps. There were rumors from so called “inside sources,” and it appears those rumors were correct. BC High has decided that it’s in the best interest of the school community to cancel in-person classes for three weeks, and move to an online format for that time. All on-campus activities will be canceled, and spring sports will resume April 7th. The administration has recommended that students refrain from traveling to and from the school to utilize playing fields or athletic facilities.

The school was open from 12-4 pm on Sunday, March 15th for students to access lockers to gather any items they may have needed.

Stay safe gentlemen, see you in three weeks.