GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Thursday traced in broad terms the origins of the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts and suggested the state’s recovery will be a long, slow process. With the […]
Health
Posted inHealth Care
Troubling signs at state elder care facilities
THE NUMBER OF CORONAVIRUS cases at the state’s nursing homes continued to mount dramatically on Thursday, amid troubling warnings from industry officials and explosive charges from the former head of […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker allows foreign-trained doctors to practice here
THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION on Thursday announced several executive orders to support the health care workforce and expand its capacity, including easing licensing restrictions for foreign-educated doctors. One order allows graduates […]
Posted inHealth Care
Dr. Lee: At MGH, patients don’t die alone
This is the fifth conversation between Dr. Jarone Lee, a frontline critical care and emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Paul […]
Posted inEconomy
Psychological, economic toll piling up
A PERFECT STORM of economic, social, and political crises brought on by coronavirus are battering Massachusetts residents. The economic devastation is spreading, with 20 percent reporting losing a job since the […]
Posted inUncategorized
COVID-19 ravaging long-term care facilities
THE CORONAVIRUS APPEARS to be cutting a wide swath through many of the state’s long-term care facilities, infecting staff and patients at an accelerating pace and causing an increasing number […]
Posted inUncategorized
Baker to pot firms: I’m focusing on surge
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER on Wednesday fended off questions about his decision to declare recreational marijuana businesses non-essential by saying he’s focused on the expected surge in COVID-19 cases and the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
2 staffers test positive for Covid-19, says sheriff’s office
TWO STAFF MEMBERS from the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office have tested positive for COVID-19 as a federal judge continued to release more immigrant detainees from the Bristol House of Correction […]
Posted inHealth Care
If you survive COVID-19, are you immune?
COLE TURNO, a physician assistant from Medford, probably picked up COVID-19 in the emergency room of Massachusetts General Hospital, where he works. Turno’s symptoms have been mild, and after 17 […]
Posted inOpinion
We’re prepared for the surge
THE START OF THIS WEEK feels different. It could be the beginning of the “surge” – we are seeing more seriously ill patients and we are opening new spaces to […]
Posted inHealth Care
Deaths from COVID-19 rise 37%
THE NUMBER OF DEATHS in Massachusetts from COVID-19 shot up by 37 percent Tuesday, prompting questions about why some parts of the state are being impacted more severely than others. […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker to funnel $800m to state health providers
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said the state intends to funnel $800 million to health providers across Massachusetts over the next few months to offset the losses they are incurring in dealing […]
Posted inHealth Care
Virus notes: Baker cabinet secretary tests positive
THE STATE’S PUBLIC SAFETY SECRETARY has tested positive for COVID-19, he announced Monday night, and is working from home. “This weekend, after experiencing mild symptoms, I was screened for COVID-19 […]
Posted inHealth Care
Baker says he plays the hand dealt him
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said on Monday that one of his guiding principles during the COVID-19 crisis is to play the cards he’s dealt, an acknowledgement of how much he and […]
Posted inEconomy
The coronavirus is expanding the safety net
LIKE MILLIONS OF other US workers, Charlie Burke and Mutwaly Hamid were used to getting up in the morning and putting in long days on the job. But when the […]
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 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 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 […]
