By Beth David, Editor
“Folks, you have defined what it means to be Acushnet strong!” said Acushnet Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher in his last weekly phone update about COVID on 3/4/22. The town has been conducting weekly testing since September 2020. The last day was 3/5/22.
“With fingers crossed, we are standing in the light at the end of a two-year tunnel,” said Chief Gallagher, who posted his message on Facebook.
Acushnet conducted 3,492 rapid tests and 13,102 lab based PCR tests. He thanked the various departments and volunteers who worked together to get the testing done every week.
“We’ve reported on good news and bad. We encouraged residents to double down when necessary and to exhale when appropriate,” he said. “As we end this message we would ask everyone to remember the 3,151 Acushnet residents who contracted COVID 19 to date and especially those 21 residents that died from the virus. May their memory, and the collective memory of what we all have endured together over these past two years, never be forgotten.”
Acushnet’s Office of Emergency Management posted on its Facebook page that 22 people were tested on the final day. Chief Gallagher later posted that there were no positive tests from that day.
“It was an honor and pleasure to have worked side by side with the men and women of the Acushnet Fire and EMS Department during the past two years,” wrote the Acushnet EMA on the Acushnet Fire and EMS Facebook page. “During that time we have developed new friendships, and in addition, a stronger bond was created between the two agencies. Although different uniforms were worn, we always remained One Team, One Mission! #TeamAcushnet.”
EMA posted a video created by Eric and Heather Chew with photos from the testing days. Find it on the EMA Facebook page at: https://www. facebook.com/acushnetema/videos/ 455360456086028
Due to falling numbers and changing guidelines from the federal government, many weekly testing programs have stopped. Testing and vaccination clinics in New Bedford are continuing (see page 6). Testing sites can be found on the state’s Stop the Spread website, www.mass.gov/info-details/find-a-covid-19-test.
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