The Barrington municipal government has managed to avoid laying off any full-time employees in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha said the town has laid off most of its part-time workers, but has managed to keep all full-timers fully employed. That is a stark contrast to many private businesses which have been forced to close, lay off employees or reduce workers' hours.

While the Barrington Public Library has been closed to the public, full-time employees continue to work, said Mr. Cunha. Most of the library employees are working from home, said Mr. Cunha, but some will occasionally stop into the library.

Mr. Cunha said library employees are working on ordering materials and building programming for when the library reopens.

The full-time employees from the senior center have been manning the town's coronavirus hotline — 401-247-1900 ext. 384 — while the senior center remains closed, said the town manager.

Mr. Cunha said about 25 percent of the town hall employees are still coming to the office each day, while others are working from home. He said employees are checked out by fire department EMTs each morning to ensure they are healthy.

"They check our temperatures," he said, adding that anyone with a temperature of 100.4 degrees of higher would be sent home immediately. (Workers exhibiting other symptoms, such as a cough, would also be sent home.)

Mr. Cunha said all town hall employees must practice physical distancing. He said that while the doors to the town hall are locked and the building is closed to the public, people can still call to make appointments for real estate transaction recordings or other essential tasks.

The department of public works is also operating at full staffing. Mr. Cunha said DPW employees must practice physical distancing and no more than one worker can be in a DPW vehicle at a time. The manager said EMTs also check DPW workers each morning.

Both the police department and fire department are at full strength.

Mr. Cunha said police and fire have made slight alterations to their response procedures in order to keep police officers and firefighters safe. For example, the fire department is minimizing the number of people going to a rescue call.

The town manager urged people to use the town's coronavirus hotline, if they have any questions or concerns related to the pandemic. The hotline number is 401-247-1900 ext. 384.