Merrimack College Officials Grilled By Selectmen Over Outbreak

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover's selectmen grilled officials from Merrimack College over the impact the college's coronavirus outbreak has had on the town and its businesses.

Two college officials appeared before the Board, Monday, to discuss the over 100 cases linked to the Monican Hall dormitory.

The outbreak, reported in September, put North Andover in the state's high-risk category and preventing further reopening, even though Monican is located in Andover. All of the school's cases are reported as North Andover cases for the purposes of state virus metrics, as the school's address is in North Andover.

>>North Andover High School Goes Remote As Town Remains High-Risk

When the outbreak began, the town had just eight community cases of the virus, which would have made it low-risk. As of the last state update, Oct. 22, the town would have been a moderate-risk community if not for the college. The town reported 33 non-college cases, Monday, and the high school went remote over a smaller outbreak.

Selectman Rosemary Smedile asked the college's representatives to push the state to classify the cases as Andover cases, not North Andover cases.

"It's very frustrating that we are being assigned this problem when it's not even part of our town," Smedile said. "Businesses are hurting, they're absolutely hurting... Business is already down, and the red does not help.

Merrimack College Vice President Andrew Maylor said that the state Department of Public Health asked them to give the college's address for all testing center cases. Maylor is the former North Andover town manager.

North Andover Town Manager Melissa Murphy-Rodrigues said she would be meeting with her Andover counterpart and state officials, Wednesday, to figure out how to count cases.

The state was "under the impression that there was some sort of agreement between the towns," Murphy-Rodrigues said.

"We expect you to work with us to set the record straight," Smedile told the Merrimack College officials. "It affects surrounding communities. Andover's got a yellow rating when in fact they're probably red. That's not fair to the people of Andover not having full knowledge of what's going on."

Town officials have also unsuccessfully appealed to the state to exempt it from high-risk community rules, because the outbreak was so concentrated.

Merrimack College Executive Vice President Jeffrey Doggett also updated the Board on the college's understanding of the Monican Hall outbreak. Officials believe two to four students left campus and got the virus, then returned and spread it throughout the dormitory. There was no single super-spreader event that caused the outbreak, he said.

Selectman Phil DeCologero noted that it would be easier if it had been a single event, so that officials could stop repeats. He asked about school policy on leaving campus and on having cars.

Only first-years with jobs they need either for coursework or to pay the bills and students with family members they take care of could bring cars on campus. Most of the Monican cases were first-year students.

Students that violate coronavirus rules risk getting expelled from their dormitories, the school officials said.

Smedile also expressed concern that Merrimack College students have likely quarantined at Royal Crest estates, where some elderly residents live.

Merrimack College reported 15 positive tests from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26. The town reported 52 active cases, Monday.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.

The initial version of this story misstated Andrew Maylor's previous job. It also mischaracterized the Monican Hall outbreak. Both errors have been corrected.

This article originally appeared on the North Andover Patch