Health

Ninth Year of Free Outdoor Fitness Classes. Attendees are required to wear masks and social distance. Nine years and counting! During these uncertain times, one thing is for sure — we are looking forward to being outside getting fresh air and exercise in a safe way. The South Coast community …

Michael P. Norton State House News Service The number of African Americans donating blood with the Red Cross has dropped by more than half since the COVID-19 outbreak began in mid-March, and African American donors are critically needed to help patients battling sickle cell disease, according to the Massachusetts Health …

The New Bedford Department of Parks, Recreation & Beaches reminds residents that certain areas at city parks are marked as designated grilling areas, and that grilling is not allowed in other sections of the parks. Social distancing is encouraged as New Bedford continues to combat the coronavirus. Special event permit …

By Katie Lannan State House News Service Gearing up for what’s expected to be another active summer for mosquito-borne illness in Massachusetts, a recently passed Senate bill looks to update the state’s approach to mosquito control. The bill is based on legislation Gov. Charlie Baker filed in April and would …

According to New Bedford health officials, Hispanics/Latinos are 20% of New Bedford’s population but account for 45.5% of the COVID-19 cases in the city. New Bedford’s white population was 67.2% of the city and accounted for 28.1% of the COVID-19 cases. This chart was made available on the City of …

The New Bedford Health Department, working closely with the Bristol County Mosquito Control Project and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, is again this year conducting an annual monitoring program to track the potential threat from EEE and WNV carrying mosquitoes. Under the program, mosquito traps are put in place …

Matt Murphy State House News Service Even as the state works to ramp up its testing capacity with a goal of being able to test as many as 45,000 people a day by the end of July, the actual number of tests for COVID-19 being conducted daily in Massachusetts has …

Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts continued a steady decline in the first three months of the year, according to the latest opioid-related overdose deaths report released today by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). In the first three months of 2020, preliminary data show there were 467 confirmed and …

Michael P. Norton State House News Service The Department of Correction (DOC) announced Thursday that it met its goal on Monday of conducting universal COVID-19 testing, with 7,679 tests performed as of Wednesday and many inmates having been tested more than once. So far, according to the DOC, 390 inmates …

Colin A. Young State House News Service Part of a recent state law restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol cigarettes, to smoking bars for on-premise consumption takes effect on Monday. Massachusetts in November became the first state in the country to prohibit retail sales of …