Massachusetts officials report 146 new COVID-19 related deaths since Saturday

Massachusetts Coronavirus Update

On April 19, 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.

As of 4 pm today, 162,241 people in Massachusetts have been tested for COVID-19 – 5,435 in the past 24 hours compared to the previous day’s total of 8,062. Sundays have been consistently the lowest testing day of the week.

On the heels of the two deadliest days so far in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said Sunday morning that “we’re right in the middle of the surge now” and a top White House official highlighted the state as an area where the continued spread of COVID-19 is a concern. Full details here.

New Bedford Coronavirus Update

Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office reported three additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Bedford Saturday morning, bringing the total positive cases in the city to 183, up from 180 yesterday. The total COVID-19 related deaths in New Bedford remains at nine. Mayor Mitchell’s office reported another death on Saturday afternoon and one new COVID-19 related death on Thursday. No specific details (age, sex of the patient, etc) is available. New Bedford does not report cases on Sunday.

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

Due to Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, there will be no residential trash and recycling collection on Monday, April 20 in New Bedford. Full details here.

Fall River Coronavirus Update

According to Mayor Coogan, Fall River reported two more positive cases on Saturday. Full details here.

Massachusetts now at center of national outbreak

By Colin A. Young
State House News Service

Massachusetts reported 156 deaths on Saturday and a single-day high of 159 fatalities on Friday, bringing the COVID-19 death toll here to 1,560 people. Nearly 2,000 new cases of infection reported Saturday brought the total number of cases in Massachusetts to 36,372 as the state continues to deal with an influx of cases.

“We’re still very much focused on Boston and across Massachusetts where the epidemic continues to spread across Massachusetts as well as in Boston, and we’re watching very closely Chicago,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “And then we watch every single outbreak that occurs in different states around the Untied States including the most recent one in Ohio.”

Birx called the pandemic “a series of small epidemics across the United States,” but Boston was the first place she mentioned when asked where her concerns lie.

At 528 cases per 100,000 people, Massachusetts has the third most cases per capita of any state in the country, according to data compiled by the New York Times. Only New York and New Jersey outpace the Bay State. At 23 deaths per 100,000 residents, Massachusetts has the sixth most deaths per capita.

“The surge is in different places, in different states, at different times. We’re in a very different place here in Massachusetts than other states are,” Baker said during his own segment on Face the Nation. “We’re right in the middle of the surge now.”

Much of Baker’s Sunday morning remote interview with Margaret Brennan, though, focused on what might come after the surge and what needs to happen for Massachusetts and other states to resume more normal levels of economic and social activity, like a significant increase in testing for the highly-contagious virus.

Asked whether there needs to be a national strategy for testing, Baker said he appreciates that the federal government recognizes that different states are in different stages of dealing with the pandemic but that there is a role for federal involvement, “especially the ability to put the foot on the accelerator with respect to advancements in testing.”

“Everything associated with testing, ultimately has to be approved by the CDC and the FDA, as it should be,” he said. “The state shouldn’t be making their own decisions on that stuff.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration also have an important role to play in working with companies to develop effective treatments for COVID-19 patients and, eventually, a vaccine.

“They approve and drive a lot of the policy and what ultimately becomes sort of the facts on the ground with respect to testing and treatments,” Baker said. “And in a state where there are a number of companies that are deeply invested in either the development of treatments or vaccines or have hospitals that are involved in clinical trials associated with treatments for COVID-19, the federal government’s role with respect to treatments is enormously important.”

Baker did not directly answer when asked if Massachusetts needs more federal funding as part of a relief package Congress has been discussing, but he talked about the ways in which the federal government would need to help states if the economy is to make a rebound.

“I think every state in the country is struggling with what the hit to their economy has done to their balance sheet and to their budgets. And if the feds are interested in sort of reopening the economy — and they’ve certainly talked a lot about the importance of stimulating the economy going forward — for states to be able to support that initiative, obviously it’s important for the feds to support our efforts to fund the stuff we do,” he said.

Massachusetts, like other states, is expecting a sizable revenue shortfall to materialize while demand and costs for public benefit programs are climbing. Last week, the bipartisan National Governors Association called on Congress to provide at least $500 billion specifically for states to address budget shortfalls caused by the pandemic.

“If we’re laying off tens of thousands of people at exactly the time when they want to reopen the economy, we’re going to be swimming against the current they’re trying to create,” Baker said.

Also on Face the Nation, former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who serves on Baker’s COVID-19 Advisory Board, said there may be a few drugs capable of treating COVID-19 in patients by this fall.

“We may have one or more treatments by the fall. I don’t think any one is going to be a home run, but we may have something that can help,” he said.

Though widespread availability of a COVID-19 vaccine is thought to be a year or more away, Gottlieb said Sunday that a vaccine might be ready for testing in America by this fall, and that it could be pressed into use if an area sees a second-wave outbreak of the viral infection.

“In terms of the vaccine here in the United States, we may have hundreds of thousands of doses available in the fall for testing and if there is an outbreak — a big outbreak in an American city — I think it would be made available in the city under some kind of protocol,” he said. “So we would have it available in the setting of an outbreak, certainly not a national epidemic like we have right now.”

Massachusetts A.G. Maura Healey releases COVID-19 resources for knowing and protecting your rights

“We hope this message finds you well. We are writing with an URGENT ask to assist your communities during these difficult times. Our office has prepared two important informational posters regarding access to health care and other rights for community members during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’d like to ask you to please distribute it widely to as many people as possible.

Everyone should immediately seek assistance to health care, should they need it, if COVID-19 related symptoms or any other medical need. It is also important for everyone to know that health care is available regardless of immigration status. So please distribute the information attached to this message to your communities at your place of worship and abroad, and let us know if we can be of any assistance.

DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS YOU ARE PROTECTED:

• FROM EVICTION & FORECLOSURE
Landlords cannot evict or threaten to evict their tenants. Mortgage companies cannot foreclose on homeowners. During this crisis, your home is secure.

• FROM DEBT COLLECTION
Harassment from debt collectors is prohibited. They cannot come to your home or workplace, file lawsuits against you, repossess your car, or garnish your wages.

• FROM UTILITY SHUTOFFS
Utilities are prohibited from shutting off your gas or electricity. You should be able to keep your lights on and hot water running.

• FROM PRICE GOUGING
Businesses cannot charge inflated prices on common goods and critical items like masks, hand sanitizer and gloves.

• WHEN SEEKING HEALTH CARE
If you feel sick, seek health care. Insurance covers COVID-19 testing and treatment. For immigrants not eligible for public health insurance programs, MassHealth Limited will cover the cost.

• FROM DISCRIMINATION
You cannot be discriminated against because of your race, ethnicity, national origin, disability or other protected category in housing or when seeking health care.

• YOU COULD QUALIFY FOR
MassUndocuFund, mutual aid organizations, and worker organizations are providing small cash grants for undocumented people and others who might not be eligible for other assistance. Jobs with Justice has more information.

• ASSISTANCE FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
You may apply for unemployment benefits if you lose your job and are authorized to work in the United States. File a claim with the Division of Unemployment Assistance.

• UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Under Massachusetts law, workers are eligible for benefits from their employers, including earned sick time, regardless of their immigration status. Additional sick leave and paid family leave may be available through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

• EARNED SICK TIME
Uninsured residents may qualify for coverage through the Health Connector’s extended open enrollment period.

• HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE CASH ASSISTANCE
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES Act), provides one-time cash payments of $1,200 for individuals, $2,400 for couples, and $500 per child for anyone who files taxes with a social security number. Other benefits, including SNAP (food stamps), TAFDC (welfare for families with children), and WIC may be available through the Departments of Transitional Assistance and Public Health.

For Immigrants:

• EQUAL ACCESS TO CARE
You have a right to health care regardless of your immigration status. Don’t be afraid to seek medical care. Go to your community heath center if you are sick, injured, or receiving routine care. Call your doctor if you are coughing, feverish, feeling tired, or lacking sense of smell; or suspect that you have been exposed to the virus.

You have the right to safely get tested and seek care. Federal and state privacy laws require health care providers to keep patients’ personal information confidential (including immigration status). There are government resources available to you.

MassHealth Limited can pay for testing and treatment for immigrants not eligible for other government programs. MassHealth Limited will NOT be considered for Public Charge decisions, meaning it will not affect access to a Green Card.

Tiene derecho a la atención médica independientemente de su estado migratorio. No tengas miedo de buscar atención médica. Vaya al centro de salud de su comunidad si está enfermo, lesionado o recibe atención de rutina. Llame a su médico si tiene tos, fiebre, cansancio o falta de olfato; o sospecha que ha estado expuesto al virus.

Tiene derecho a hacerse la prueba de manera segura y buscar atención. Las leyes de privacidad federales y estatales requieren que los proveedores de atención médica mantengan la confidencialidad de la información personal de los pacientes (incluido el estado migratorio). Hay recursos gubernamentales disponibles para usted.

MassHealth Limited puede pagar las pruebas y el tratamiento para inmigrantes que no son elegibles para otros programas gubernamentales. MassHealth Limited NO será considerado para decisiones de carga pública, lo que significa que no afectará el acceso a una tarjeta verde.

This message is from the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.”

CONTACT US

CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINTS
(617) 963-2917

HEALTH CARE HELPLINE
(888) 830-6277

MAIN HOTLINE
(617) 727-8400

WORKER ISSUES
(617) 727-3465

AGO RESOURCES
mass.gov/ago/covid19

Massachusetts officials report 156 new COVID-19 related deaths since Friday

Massachusetts Coronavirus Update

On April 17, the Massachusetts Public Health Department reported that the state added 1,970 more positive cases of COVID-19 bringing to total to 36,372. This is a decrease from Friday’s 2,221 reported cases. 156 new COVID-19 related deaths were reported since yesterday, down from 159, bringing the total deaths in Massachusetts to 1,560.

As of 4 pm today, 156,806 people in Massachusetts have been tested for COVID-19 – 8,062 in the past 24 hours compared to the previous day’s total of 7,971

New Bedford Coronavirus Update

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

Due to Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, there will be no residential trash and recycling collection on Monday, April 20 in New Bedford. Full details here.

Fall River Coronavirus Update

According to Mayor Coogan, Fall River has 178 total cases of COVID-19 as of Friday. 82 individuals have recovered. Full details here.

Senator Warren calls on banks to end the seizure of stimulus checks

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, sent letters to banks and credit unions — through their trade organizations: the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Independent Community Bankers of America, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions, and the Credit Union National Association — urging them to cease the seizure of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act stimulus payments from hardworking American families. The senators’ push follows recent reports that banks are seizing the CARES Act stimulus payments from their customers to pay themselves.

“During this time of crisis, we must come together to protect our collective health and mitigating the financial blow that Covid-19 is taking on our workers and our economy. We ask that your member banks do the right thing–for their customers, our country, and our economy–and publicly commit that they will not offset their customers’ stimulus payments to pay for any fees, charges, or allegedly past due debts,” wrote the senators.

Earlier this month Senator Warren joined Senators Brown and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in calling for Treasury Sec. Mnuchin to protect stimulus payments from being garnished by debt collectors.

2020-04-15 Letter to ABA re offsets

Three more COVID-19 cases reported in New Bedford, total up to 183

UPDATE: New Bedford health officials reported one more COVID-19 related death since this article was published.

Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office reported three additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Bedford Saturday morning, bringing the total positive cases in the city to 183, up from 180 yesterday. 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.

Due to Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, there will be no residential trash and recycling collection on Monday, April 20 in New Bedford. Full details here.

According to Mayor Coogan, Fall River has 178 total cases of COVID-19 as of Friday. 82 individuals have recovered. Full details here.

On April 17, the Massachusetts Public Health Department reported that the state added 2,221 more positive cases of COVID-19 bringing to total to 34,402. This is a decrease from Thursday’s 2,263 reported cases. 159 new COVID-19 related deaths were reported since yesterday, up from 137, bringing the total deaths in Massachusetts to 1,404. Full details here.

Governor Baker yesterday outlined its ongoing comprehensive strategy to address homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Administration also announced additional support for foster families and a new emergency order authorizing the creation of emergency childcare sites. Full details here.

A bill that hospital representatives said would provide urgently needed new legal protections to health care professionals working in unprecedented situations during the COVID-19 crisis passed the state Senate on Thursday. Full details here.

Three more COVID-19 cases reported in New Bedford, total up to 183

Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office reported three additional confirmed COVID-19 cases in New Bedford Satruday morning afternoon, bringing the total positive cases in the city to 183, up from 180 yesterday. The total COVID-19 related deaths in New Bedford remains at eight. Mayor Mitchell reported one new COVID-19 related death on Thursday. No further information on the death is available.

Due to Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, there will be no residential trash and recycling collection on Monday, April 20 in New Bedford. Full details here.

According to Mayor Coogan, Fall River has 178 total cases of COVID-19 as of Friday. 82 individuals have recovered. Full details here.

New Bedford’s Cape Verdean parade canceled

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

According to a post in the Facebook group, the organizers canceled the parade as it was “necessary to prioritize the health and safety of our participants, vendors and our committee members”.

The New Bedford Mayor’s office confirmed the cancelation but wasn’t aware of any specific details.

Here’s a look at last year’s parade.

Warren to Fed, Treasury: Your New $1.45 Trillion Dollar Bailout Loan Program for Businesses Fails to Protect Workers, Taxpayers and Economy

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent two letters to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin expressing concern with the inadequate oversight provisions of a new $600 billion loan program to bail out thousands of mid-sized businesses and a new $850 billion program to bail out large corporations. Both programs use billions of dollars in aid provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. She also called on Chairman Powell and Secretary Mnuchin to include specific requirements for companies that receive bailouts to protect workers, taxpayers, and the economy.

“I am concerned that, in establishing this new program to bail out thousands of medium-sized companies, you did not use your authority to appropriately protect workers and taxpayers, and that you chose not to use a specific provision in the CARES Act that gave you explicit recommendations on how to do so,” the senator wrote in her letter about the Main Street Lending Facility for mid-sized businesses. “Congress provided you with this funding to protect workers, taxpayers, and the economy, and I urge you to reconsider program requirements to make sure that these funds are used for those purposes.”

The CARES Act contained a specific provision directing the Treasury Secretary to implement a program to provide financing to small and medium-sized businesses, and recommended that this program require participating businesses to take a number of steps to prevent layoffs, end stock buy-backs, end outsourcing, and protect workers.

However, rather than creating a program with these requirements in place, the Federal Reserve and Treasury instead proceeded to use $75 billion in taxpayer funds to create the Main Street Lending Program with more limited requirements.

“In other words, the Federal Reserve is handing out billions of dollars with little oversight and failing to require basic protections that companies retain workers and maintain payroll, failing to include protections against outsourcing, and failing to retain basic protections for union workers,” the senator continued. “Absent these protections, it is not clear how these bailouts will help American families and workers.”

Senator Warren also sent a separate letter to Chairman Powell and Secretary Mnuchin regarding the Fed’s announcement that it will provide $850 billion worth of loans to large corporations through the new Primary and Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facilities and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. In this letter, the senator criticized Chairman Powell and Secretary Mnuchin for doing “virtually nothing” to assure that these bailouts help workers, taxpayers, and the economy, and called on them to incorporate the principles she outlined in her March 31, 2020 letter to achieve these goals.

“I am extraordinarily disappointed that you have failed to even put in place basic protections to make sure that this nearly $1 trillion worth of new loans achieve these goals,” the senator wrote. “You can and must do better for American workers, taxpayers, and the economy.”

To address her concerns about these programs, Senator Warren asked Chairman Powell and Secretary Mnuchin to include the following for any recipient of bailouts:

– Ironclad workforce retention and restoration protections;
– Protections against outsourcing;
– Protections for collective bargaining agreements and unionized workers;
– Requirements that the loan recipient provide a $15 minimum wage within one year of receiving a loan;
– Requirements that the CEOs of companies receiving bailout make personal, annual certifications to Treasury and the Federal Reserve that their companies are complying with the rules, ensuring that these CEOs would face civil and criminal penalties for violating these terms;
– Requirements that recipients of funds be held liable to the federal government for all assistance received if they violate any of the terms of their agreements with taxpayers; and
– A ban on political spending or lobbying expenditures for the duration of the assistance for any recipients of bailout funds.
– The senator also asked that they administer the programs in a transparent manner, so that Congress and the public have a clear understanding of the rationale for all actions taken by Treasury and the Federal Reserve, knowledge of all recipients of bailout funds, and a clear explanation of the terms and conditions of all loans or assistance.

Last month, Senator Warren wrote to Chairman Powell and Secretary Mnuchin urging them to use their broad authority under the CARES Act to ensure that bailout funds protect workers and do not reward corporate misbehavior, and to ensure that the funds are protected by strong anti-corruption and transparency rules. The senator had previously written to Secretary Mnuchin urging him to fully meet the needs of state and local governments before using any taxpayer dollars to bail out large companies.

Massachusetts Senate approves legal protections for health workers

By Katie Lannan
State House News Service

Based on legislation Gov. Charlie Baker filed last week, the bill (S 2640) would give health care professionals immunity from lawsuits and civil liability for alleged damages related to COVID-19, as long as they provided services in good faith and the damages were not caused by gross negligence, recklessness or an intent to harm or discriminate.

Volunteer organizations providing use of their facilities would also receive similar immunity, according to a Senate Ways and Means Committee summary.

Kate Walsh, the president and CEO of Boston Medical Center, said in testimony to the Financial Services Committee, that the need for the bill “is days away.”

“We hope to see this bill pass as soon as possible in its current form to ensure that Massachusetts healthcare professionals have confidence that they will be protected from personal liability while making extraordinary contributions under the most challenging circumstances [of] our lifetimes,” Walsh wrote.

The Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association characterized it as “essential” that the bill become law “immediately to ensure that Massachusetts healthcare professionals are confident as they work through overwhelming challenges and patient surges.”

Sen. James Welch, a West Springfield Democrat who chairs the Financial Services Committee with Rep. James Murphy of Weymouth, said the bill was one that needed “quick action” and the committee would try to “live up to that responsibility.”

When he filed the bill, Baker said in a message to lawmakers that he “cannot overstate the urgency of enacting this legislation.” He said it would provide “critical protections” for the health care workers staffing new field hospitals set up in “facilities that are not contemplated under traditional standards of care but that are absolutely required to expand our health care system’s capacity in this time of crisis.”

Those field hospitals include the DCU Center in Worcester and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in South Boston.

Baker filed the bill on April 8, and, in lieu of an in-person hearing, the Financial Services Committee accepted emailed testimony on the bill through Monday. The panel advanced a version of the legislation to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which redrafted and endorsed it Thursday morning.

“We want to make sure that our health care professionals who are going above and beyond what they normally do, which is a lot, that they don’t have something hanging over their head,” Welch told the News Service. “We as a commonwealth, that’s probably the least we can do on their behalf to help them focus on their work and help people navigate through some very difficult times.”

The bill cleared the Senate on a voice vote. Before passing it, senators rejected an amendment from Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz that sought to address the state’s crisis standards of care, a set of voluntary Department of Public Health guidelines intended to help hospitals determine how to allocate scarce resources during the pandemic.

Groups including the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, of which Chang-Diaz is a member, have raised concerns that the guidelines could disadvantage people of color who need treatment.

Chang-Diaz’s amendment would have required the DPH “to consult with the Massachusetts affiliates of the National Medical Association and the Hispanic Medical Association, the NAACP New England Area Council, the Disability Law Center, and the Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity” and issue revised standards by April 24 that “consider the social determinants of health and documented racial and ethnic health disparities in comorbidities such as, but not limited, to heart disease, diabetes, and asthma.”