Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he had no immediate plans to change the Massachusetts’ mask mandate, saying his administration would only do so when more people are vaccinated. In a press conference at the Family Health Center of Worcester, Baker said he would follow federal guidance on mask-wearing and incorporate additional information about COVID-19 variants. “A lot of it is.
Both the average number of coronavirus cases and average coronavirus test positivity reported each day have been slowly rising since about mid-March, after steady declines from the start of the year, according to the Department of Public Health s interactive coronavirus dashboard. In late March, the number of hospitalizations started to rise, as well.
Even as the state experiences a continued uptick in cases, the process of vaccinating residents is moving forward. New Hampshire is expanding access to vaccines to people from out of state starting April 19. How many Massachusetts residents will head north to be vaccinated? People who live near the border have some thoughts.
From the start of the coronavirus pandemic, long-term care facilities and nursing homes were in a precarious spot, caring for many of their communities’ highest-risk residents.
They were dealt a disproportionate brunt of the pandemic, with at least 990 deaths at such facilities in Worcester County, or 45% of all deaths in the county, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Their residents were long forced into isolation and their workers at high risk of catching the virus themselves.
Now, about a year after cases reached their initial peak locally last spring, these care facilities are starting to see long-awaited signs of post-pandemic life, with residents and staff largely vaccinated and loosened state restrictions now allowing for some gatherings and in-person visits from family.
Health officials in Massachusetts reported another 1,376 cases of the new coronavirus and 19 new deaths on Monday. The update puts the total of confirmed cases at 621,261 and the death toll at 17,061, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Another 345 deaths are considered probably linked to COVID-19. The average number of coronavirus cases, average coronavirus test positivity.