With the number of Covid-19 cases on the rise and despite the fact that virtually all seniors who frequent the Pilgrim Senior Center have been fully vaccinated, the center has suspended all programs and activities held in the facility to Jan. 18.

“It’s hard for us to say you can’t come,” Meg Underwood, director of human services said Monday, the first day of the closure.

But the center won’t cease providing services. Lunches will be available for “Grab and Go” or delivery. Seniors are asked to call 458-4076 to schedule a meal pickup or delivery. Also, staff members will be on duty to provide assistance by calling 468-4070, and Transwick will provide grocery shopping trips as well as trips to the library, pharmacy, pool and other location by appointment. The number to schedule transportation is 468-4002.

Unlike other establishments that have been forced to reduce service because of reductions in staff caused by the pandemic, fortunately the center staff has not been depleted as a result of positive tests and quarantines.

Underwood pointed out that the center has operated with extra attention paid to the safety of its members. The center kept a mask rule even after the governor dropped the mandate during the summer. The center has also sought to distance people, limiting and spacing the number of individuals sitting at lunch tables to four.

Underwood said the health and safety of those using the center is a priority, and the action to close the facility was taken out of an abundance of caution. She estimated a couple of hundred people use the center weekly. She said the closure will affect activities such as playing cards that enable people to socialize as well as exercise, learning and craft programs.

Word of the closure was posted on the city website and through social media.