LAITH ALMATWARI has medical experience with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that he thinks would be valuable in the fight against COVID-19, but bureaucratic red tape is preventing him from jumping into the […]
Health Care
Posted inHealth Care
Walsh urges face coverings, curfew
WITH AN EXPECTED SURGE in COVID-19 cases approaching, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is encouraging everyone to wear a covering over their mouth and nose when they go outside and to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Tyer rallies Pittsfield to ‘crush the curve’
PITTSFIELD MAYOR Linda Tyer said the first coronavirus death in her community on March 22 hit her hard. “That really felt like a moment when this COVID-19 disease had a […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Baker calls new face mask guidance appropriate
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER didn’t wear a face mask at a press availability on Sunday, but he said new guidance from the federal government urging people to wear masks under certain […]
Posted inHealth Care
Rate of growth in COVID-19 cases slows
THE LATEST STATE FIGURES show a modest slowing of the growth in new COVID-19 cases, but troubling increases in deaths in Franklin, Berkshire, and Hampden counties. The number of positive […]
Posted inEconomy
Commonwealth’s COVID-19 response leaves too many behind
IT’S BEEN MORE than three weeks since Gov. Baker declared a state of emergency. Despite a number of efforts that have aimed to ensure that groups are not left behind […]
Posted inOpinion
We should all be wearing masks
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending everyone wear a face covering, particularly in public settings where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain. CommonWealth recently reported […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Unusually high amount of deaths in Franklin Cty
DATA FROM THE MASSACHUSETTS Department of Public Health indicate an unusually high number of COVID-19 fatalities are occurring in Franklin County. Three new deaths were reported in Friday’s report, bringing […]
Posted inHealth Care
State to track web of COVID-19 contacts
THE STATE IS PLANNING to launch by the end of this month a much broader and sophisticated system for tracking anyone who has come in contact with a person who […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Health Care
Judge starts releasing ICE detainees during coronavirus spread concerns
A FEDERAL JUDGE on Friday ordered the release of three immigrant detainees being held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Bristol County House of Correction to reduce the potential for the spread […]
Posted inHealth Care
I had COVID-19. Or did I?
JUST OVER TWO weeks ago, I scrambled first for the medicine cabinet, and then for bed. After an ugly 15-round bout with the illness, I’m feeling much better. I had […]
Posted inOpinion
Progress on homelessness/COVID-19 is uneven
AT ONE OF HIS DAILY COVID-19 press briefings, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that the Newton Pavilion, formerly part of the Boston Medical Center campus, would serve as a health care […]
Posted inHealth Care
Is a negative COVID-19 test really negative?
I RECENTLY TESTED NEGATIVE for coronavirus. I was told instead it was probably a “viral upper respiratory infection,” which meant spending a few days married to my nebulizer machine. But now […]
Posted inThe Download
Is a negative COVID-19 test really a negative?
I recently tested negative for coronavirus. I was told instead it was probably a “viral upper respiratory infection,” which meant spending a few days married to my nebulizer machine. But […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Concerns rise at long-term care facilities
RESIDENTS OF LONG-TERM CARE facilities across the state are testing positive for COVID-19 in growing numbers, raising concerns that the highly contagious virus could sweep through a very vulnerable population. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Physician assistants provide workforce flexibility
MICHELLE SHKNEVSKY, a general surgery physician assistant at Brockton Hospital, is actually seeing fewer patients since the COVID-19 epidemic began. With no elective surgeries being performed, her unit needs fewer […]
Posted inHealth Care
Dr. Lee: ICU units won’t beat this disease
This is the fourth conversation between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul Hattis, an […]
Posted inHealth Care
705 to 2,580 COVID-19 deaths projected in Mass.
A GROUP OF EXPERTS assembled by the Baker administration is projecting that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases during the course of the pandemic in Massachusetts is going to rise […]
Posted inHealth Care
Patriots plane delivers 1m masks from China
MASSACHUSETTS LANDED about 1 million N95 medical-grade respirator masks on Thursday through a humanitarian mission orchestrated by the Baker administration with the help of US and Chinese officials and the […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Franklin Cty. reports 3 more deaths
THREE MORE COVID-19 deaths were reported on Wednesday in tiny Franklin County, bringing its total to seven and solidifying its position as the Massachusetts county with the most deaths per […]
Posted inHealth Care
To mask or not to mask
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, who is leading efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, doesn’t see a need to wear a mask as he holds press conferences at the […]
Posted inHealth Care
How vets died of COVID-19 and no one knew
IT TOOK EIGHT VETERANS’ DEATHS and five days before the head of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home informed state and local public health authorities about the extent of the COVID-19 outbreak […]
Posted inEducation, Health Care, State House News Service
Virus notes: Franklin emerges as hotspot
NEW NUMBERS RELEASED on Tuesday show just how quickly the coronavirus situation can change, as confirmed cases continued a steady rise, deaths jumped dramatically, and two of the state’s smallest […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker extends state shutdown until May 4
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Tuesday urged Massachusetts residents to continue all existing social distancing measures and ordered all non-essential businesses to keep their offices and factories closed until May 4. […]
