SWAMPSCOTT — Governor Charlie Baker on Tuesday blamed a house party for a COVID-19 outbreak at Swampscott High School last week that forced the school back into remote learning until April 5.
Baker said the Swampscott party is one of two recent superspreader events that has been leading to the state’s rising case numbers.
“The two biggest clusters we’re dealing with right now are one on the Cape, which involved a church community, and one in my hometown of Swampscott which involved a big, giant high school party,” Baker said during his virtual testimony to the state’s Joint Committee on Covid-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management.
As of Wednesday afternoon, 31 positive COVID cases have been reported in the school district, with 27 of those cases among students and staff at the high school, according to the district’s COVID data dashboard. All but one of those 31 cases have occurred since March 17. An additional 75 people at the high school have not yet reported test results.
The school offered a free drive-through COVID testing site at the high school on Monday.
Baker said that while things have been getting better in Massachusetts and throughout the country, residents still need to exercise caution to avoid spreading the virus.
“This is no time for anybody to let down their guard,” Baker said. “One of the biggest challenges we’ve all faced is doing the right thing when we’re in what I call informal settings and informal gatherings, and as the weather gets nice, I think it’s gonna be really important for all of us to pound home that message.”
Baker also praised the state for its work in the vaccination rollout in his testimony, noting that the White House recently recognized Massachusetts as one of the only states in the country to reach 25 percent of its population having at least one dose of the vaccine.“Everything associated with COVID has been a balancing act,” he said. “We’ve worked to make what we consider to be the right balance for Massachusetts.”
