Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office reported 90 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Bedford Tuesday morning, bringing the total positive cases in the city to 278, up from 188 on Monday. Yesterday, Mayor Mitchell reported that the City of New Bedford’s COVID-19 count was more than 33% higher than the Massachusetts Department of Health count for New Bedford. Full statement here.

New Bedford added one more COVID-19 related death since Monday bringing the total to 10. No specific details (age, sex of the patient, etc) is available.

New Bedford’s 2020 Memorial Day parade, scheduled for Monday, May 25, has been canceled due to social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Full details here.

Fall River added 5 more confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday. According to Mayor Coogan, the City of Fall River has seen 184 total positive cases. Full details here.

On April 20, the Massachusetts Public Health Department reported that the state added 1,566 more positive cases of COVID-19 bringing to total to 39,643. This is a decrease from Sunday’s 1,705 reported cases. 103 new COVID-19 related deaths were reported since yesterday, down from 146, bringing the total deaths in Massachusetts to 1,809. As of 4 pm today, 169,398 people in Massachusetts have been tested for COVID-19. Full details here.

Governor Charlie Baker signed a housing security bill on Monday to put a pause on evictions and foreclosures until after the coronavirus pandemic abates, finalizing an effort that took weeks for the Legislature to negotiate. Full details here.

“VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE: Tuesday, April 21, 2020

I am very pleased to let Acushnet know that the resident we transported to the hospital last week for Covid-19 related medical issues has been released and is home resting comfortably!

“I visited with them today (from a distance) and expressed the happiness of the entire community. The resident was overwhelmed to learn of the support and concern expressed on their behalf. The fear seen last week in their eyes was replaced with joy.

“We are hopeful that this positive outcome will be repeated many, many more times.”

Acushnet Fire Chief Kevin A. Gallagher.”

New Bedford’s 2020 Memorial Day parade, scheduled for Monday, May 25, has been cancelled due to social distancing measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The parade is New Bedford’s annual tribute to those lost in service to their country, and the City will hold virtual services to honor them this year.

Several events will be live-streamed on New Bedford Guide’s Facebook page.

• Monday, May 25 at 10:00 a.m. – Fishermen’s Memorial Service
• Monday, May 25 at 12 Noon – City Memorial Service & Wreath Laying Ceremony

Other events hosted by local veterans’ groups that are able to continue as planned, while no longer open to the general public.

Katie Lannan
State House News Service

Massachusetts workers would receive 80 extra hours, or 10 days, of job-protected paid sick time to use during the COVID-19 crisis, under a bill recently filed by Rep. Paul Donato and Sen. Jason Lewis.

According to the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition, the emergency paid sick time would be available to workers not covered under the sick time provisions of the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act — those working for a private employer with more than 500 employees, and those working at health care or residential facilities that have the option to exempt themselves from the federal law. The leave would be available for workers diagnosed with COVID-19, experiencing symptoms of the disease and awaiting a diagnosis, or those who are quarantined or reasonably believe their health is at risk, as well as to care for a family member or roommate with COVID-19.

“In hospitals, grocery stores, and nursing homes, essential workers are doing heroic work fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, but many of our essential workers lack the ability to stay home with pay if they are sick,” Donato said in a statement. “We need to do everything we can to protect Massachusetts workers on the front lines of the pandemic, including passing this legislation to fill in the gaps in the federal response. No worker should feel the need to come to work sick and risk infecting others.”

The bill (HD 5039) was filed on Friday in the House.

Massachusetts Coronavirus Update

On April 20, the Massachusetts Public Health Department reported that the state added 1,566 more positive cases of COVID-19 bringing to total to 39,643. This is a decrease from Sunday’s 1,705 reported cases. 103 new COVID-19 related deaths were reported since yesterday, down from 146, bringing the total deaths in Massachusetts to 1,809. As of 4 pm today, 169,398 people in Massachusetts have been tested for COVID-19.

Governor Charlie Baker signed a housing security bill on Monday to put a pause on evictions and foreclosures until after the coronavirus pandemic abates, finalizing an effort that took weeks for the Legislature to negotiate. Full details here.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that his state has already identified 400 ventilators that it could send to Massachusetts. Full details here.

New Bedford Coronavirus Update

Today, Mayor Jon Mitchell reported that the City of New Bedford’s COVID-19 count was more than 33% higher than the Massachusetts Department of Health count for New Bedford. As of today, the State reported 188 cases, but Mayor Mithcell reports the City’s Health Department counted “more than 250 cases.” Here’s Mayor Mitchell’s statement here.

New Bedford’s Annual Cape Verdean Recognition Parade has been canceled. This year’s parade would have been the 48th year. Full details here.

Fall River Coronavirus Update

Fall River has seen 5 more confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. According to Mayor Coogan, the city has seen 184 total positive cases. Full details here.

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawai’i) and Representative Judy Chu (D-Calif.), along with 27 senators and 76 members of the House of Representatives, in writing to members of Congressional leadership to call for an inclusive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) relief package that ensures that urgently-needed COVID-19 testing and medical care and relief benefits are accessible by all communities, regardless of limited English proficiency or immigration status. In their letter, the Members of Congress highlighted the immigrant workers who are on the front lines of the coronavirus response as health care workers, farmworkers, grocery store workers, and other essential service providers.

“As Congress responds to the critical needs of our country during the COVID-19 pandemic, we urge you to ensure that the vital protections and economic lifelines provided in coronavirus relief legislation are accessible to all communities, regardless of immigration status or limited English proficiency,” the Members of Congress wrote. “COVID-19 has caused one of the greatest public health and economic crises our Nation has ever faced, and it requires a whole-of-society approach. A response that leaves out immigrants-many of whom are on the front lines in our fight against COVID-19-will be ineffective and detrimental to our efforts to stop this pandemic.”

The Members of Congress continued: “We strongly urge you to build on the critical steps Congress has taken to protect families and workers in prior coronavirus relief packages by including the above-mentioned common sense measures in the upcoming relief legislation. We also ask that you provide robust funding for government agencies and community based-organizations to provide information about these coronavirus services in at least the languages described as most encountered in the 2016 FEMA Language Access Plan.”

Earlier this month, Senator Warren also joined Senator Hirono, Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Representative Chu, Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), and Representative Lou Correa (D-Calif.) to release the Coronavirus Immigrant Families Protection Act, legislation that would provide critical assistance to vulnerable communities impacted by COVID-19, regardless of immigration status or English language proficiency. The legislation is supported by more than 70 organizations, including labor unions, civil rights groups, and immigrant rights groups.

In addition to Senators Warren and Hirono and Representative Chu, the letter to House and Senate leadership was signed by Senators Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tom R. Carper (D-Del.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Representatives Lou Correa (D-Calif.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Alan Lowenthal (D- Calif.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Darren Soto (D-Fla.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-CNMI), Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.), Al Green (D-Texas), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), TJ Cox (D-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Alma Adams (D-N.C.), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), José Serrano (D-N.Y.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Karen Bass (D-Calif.), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), and Albio Sires (D-N.J.).

Senator Warren has cosponsored the Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Together (FIRST) Act, introduced by Senator Booker and Representative Jayapal, to move immigrants out of detention and halt immigration enforcement against individuals not deemed a significant public safety risk during the pandemic.

In early March, she led a letter urging the Trump Administration to suspend all immigration enforcement actions in and around hospitals and other medical facilities.

She recently joined her colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pushing for the release of vulnerable and low-risk detained persons from DHS custody as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise. She and her colleagues previously wrote to DHS, ICE, and CBP asking about their plans to prepare for the possible spread of COVID-19 within DHS facilities.

She joined Senator Durbin in urging President Trump to automatically extend work authorizations for recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status during the pandemic.

On March 11, she sent a letter with Senator Markey raising concerns about the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of COVID-19 prevention efforts in the immigration courts. Senator Warren later urged DOJ to close all immigration courts to prevent the spread of the virus.

She has also introduced the Prioritizing Pandemic Prevention Act (S. 3510), legislation to defund the border wall and direct those funds to combating COVID-19.

Matt Murphy
State House News Service

Governor Charlie Baker signed a housing security bill on Monday to put a pause on evictions and foreclosures until after the coronavirus pandemic abates, finalizing an effort that took weeks for the Legislature to negotiate.

House and Senate Democrats signaled their interest in late March in protecting renters and homeowners during the crisis and the Legislature passed the bill (H 4647) on Friday after House and Senate negotiators reached a compromise, and Republican Rep. Shawn Dooley agreed to stand down after blocking the bill’s passage for a day due concerns about impacts on landlords.

Baker signed the bill at 3 p.m. despite realtors urging the governor to return it to the Legislature with an amendment. The Greater Boston Real Estate Board wanted Baker to propose an amendment to remove a temporary ban on landlords issuing notices to quit, which board CEO Gregory Vasil called “a key part of, but preliminary, any legal action.” Housing advocates wanted the ban because they said renters receiving such a notice may feel pressured to leave, and put their own health at risk to do so. Vasil suggested adding language to the notices that would clearly inform renters of their right to stay in the property.

The moratorium will last for 120 days, or until 45 days after Baker lifts the COVID-19 state of emergency. The bill does not absolve tenants or homeowners from paying their rents or mortgages, but does protect them from paying late penalties as long as they demonstrate that their inability to pay during the crisis is due to a hardship caused by the pandemic.

“This legislation is crucial for public health,” said Andrea Park, attorney at Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. “If we are going to stay home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, we must all have a home to stay in. The strong moratorium passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor will help ensure that evictions and foreclosure do not force people into unsafe situations.”

The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization also thanked Baker for “taking swift action,” stating that the bill will “provide much needed relief to families throughout the Commonwealth, especially low-income families.”

Today, Mayor Jon Mitchell reported that the City of New Bedford’s COVID-19 count was more than 33% higher than the Massachusetts Department of Health count for New Bedford. As of today, the State reported 188 cases, but Mayor Mithcell reports the City’s Health Department counted “more than 250 cases.” Here’s Mayor Mitchell’s statement:

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City has been committed to providing the public with accurate, current and complete information to enable our residents to protect themselves and their families. We’ve done this through regular and frequent announcements about public health guidance, the city’s multifaceted preparations, and the requirements concerning social distancing and other mitigation measures. Among other information, we’ve provided regular updates about the spread of the coronavirus in Greater New Bedford — particularly the total number of confirmed positive cases in the city itself.

Every day, we receive the number of new confirmed cases from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and report them to our regional media. The state’s numbers themselves are based in part on the numbers it receives from private testing facilities, which also report their numbers back to the healthcare providers that ordered the tests.

This weekend, the City’s Health Department discovered that the number of confirmed positive cases reported by the state was not keeping up with the cases the City was tracking from the healthcare providers in our region. As of this morning, with the help of our regional healthcare providers, our Health Department has now tracked more than 250 positive cases in New Bedford, which is significantly higher than the figure reported by the state. It is important to note that the test results that were not accounted for were completed over several days, and they therefore do not represent a one-day increase. Nor does this appear to be a problem unique to test results for New Bedford residents.

The city’s Health Department has informed the state about this problem. It appears that there may be a delay on the part of one or more private testing labs in reporting testing results to the state. The state reports that it is working with those testing labs to rectify the problem.

We are reporting this discrepancy not as a criticism of anyone. Everyone is working hard to manage a public health crisis the likes of which we have not faced in our lifetime. It is an attempt, rather, to be faithful to our practice of pushing out relevant information to the public. More particularly, we are concerned about the possibility that the previously reported totals may suggest to the public the “curve” of viral transmission in Greater New Bedford is beginning to flatten, when in fact it is not. While the overall numbers in our region are significantly lower than many other urban areas in the Northeast, the more current figures compiled by the city’s Health Department reveal that the virus is still spreading, the number of cases is still growing, and the curve is not flattening. So it bears emphasizing: now is not the time to relax on the social distancing and other measures that have been effective in our city and region.

We will continue to update the public with the latest information as we have it, in an effort to help keep everyone safe.”

Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office reported five additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Bedford Monday morning, bringing the total positive cases in the city to 188, up from 183 on Saturday. The total COVID-19 related deaths in New Bedford remains at nine. Mayor Mitchell’s office reported another death on Saturday and one new COVID-19 related death on Thursday. No specific details (age, sex of the patient, etc) is available.

Fall River on Saturday reported 1 more confirmed positive case of COVID-19. According to Mayor Coogan, Fall River has seen 179 total positive cases. 82 individuals had recovered as of Friday. Full details here.

On April 17, the Massachusetts Public Health Department reported that the state added 1,705 more positive cases of COVID-19 bringing to total to 38,077. This is a decrease from Saturday’s 1,970 reported cases. 146 new COVID-19 related deaths were reported since yesterday, down from 156, bringing the total deaths in Massachusetts to 1,706. Full details here.

announced today that Massachusetts residents who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits can now apply online for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Full details here.

Colin A. Young
State House News Service

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that his state has already identified 400 ventilators that it could send to Massachusetts.

New York and especially New York City had been the primary epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, but the Empire State has seen encouraging numbers in recent days and Cuomo has suggested his state has reached the apex of its curve.

Massachusetts is “right in the middle of the surge now,” Gov. Charlie Baker said Sunday and has for weeks been working to secure more ventilators. Cuomo said Sunday that he has spoken to Baker and told him that New York is going to “be there for you” and could deliver 400 ventilators to Massachusetts “on 24 hours notice,” CNN reported.