By Richard Smigielski
In the last few days and weeks the conversations in the neighborhoods of Chelsea have centered on a few important topics. Some of them include: Have you been able to get the COVID-19 vaccine yet? Another: how do you feel about the crises and human tragedy situation created by Joe Biden and his administration at the southern boarder? Also, but not surprisingly: why did the City take down the Christopher Columbus statue in Chelsea Square? The last question and discussion seem to strike a serious chord among the people in our community. As an woman stated to me a few days ago on a Saturday morning: “I’m depressed…I just walked through Chelsea Square and saw the Columbus statue laying in the back of a City truck! Why would the City take down a piece of history? Why are they destroying our history!”
Student report examines COVID-19 spread in Chelsea, Mass.
A report by Cristina Alonso, DrPH ’21, found two major reasons for the swift coronavirus spread in Chelsea, Mass.: the lag time between when people first noticed symptoms and when they got tested and the fact that about one-third of the positive cases were asymptomatic.
Collaborating with the Chelsea Board of Health, Alonso looked at data on 3,302 COVID-19 cases in the city from March 9 to August 3, 2020. She found that people got tested roughly a week after experiencing symptoms. “The time people were taking between symptoms and being tested was pretty long,” said Alonso in a November 5, 2020 Chelsea Record article. “If there’s one thing that I hope is learned from this report, it’s do not wait to get tested.”