As the Department of Public Health and other agencies and organizations provide updates on COVID-19, I wanted to share with you the new information being reported:
- In Massachusetts, there is a total of 525 cases of COVID-19. The Massachusetts Public Health Laboratory has tested 3031 individuals https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-cases-quarantine-and-monitoring
- Yesterday, the Department of Public Health the second COVID-19 death of a woman in her 50s from Middlesex County.
- The Commonwealth is working with the U.S Army Corp of Engineers on identifying existing facilities that could be converted or retrofitted into structures like hospitals or shelters.
- The COVID-19 Command Center is carefully monitoring the Commonwealth’s testing capacity and is making significant progress in testing this week.
- AFC Urgent Care in Waltham is the first privately owned urgent care center that is conducting drive-thru testing for pre-screened patients. This is in addition to CVS Shrewsbury which is part of a pilot across the nation
- Starting Monday, March 23, select childcare centers will open to serve as emergency drop-in childcare services for families with no other options that will continue going to work to ensure the safety, health, and welfare of the Commonwealth’s residents, including emergency responders, medical professionals, and critical service workers like grocery store employees.
- MassHealth and the Health Connector will protect coverage for all individuals who have Medicaid coverage as of March 18, 2020, and for all individuals approved for coverage during the national emergency. This protection will extend to one month after the national emergency is over.
- This week the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Unemployment Assistance will be hosting town halls to take you through the process of filing a successful unemployment claim. To sign up visit: http://www.mass.gov/unemployment/townhall
- To file an unemployment claim, visit https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-unemployment-and-coronavirus-covid-19.Anyone feeling overwhelmed with sadness, anxiety or stress, or who wants to harm themselves or others, can access the mental health, emotional support, and suicide prevention program Call2Talk by dialing 2-1-1. Call2Talk is also available by calling 508-532-2255 or by texting C2T to 741741.
In addition to these updates, my office is still accessible so please continue to reach out and we will get back to you.
Email: Denise.Garlick@mahouse.gov
Phone: 617-722-2380
Our local boards of health, the Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control are continuing to maintain websites with the most updated information regarding COVID-19 that you can access here:
Needham Health Department Updates: http://www.needhamma.gov/85/Public-Health
Medfield Updates: http://www.town.medfield.net/1860/Coronavirus-Info-COVID-19
Dover Updates: http://doverma.org/
Department of Public Health: https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19 Or call 2-1-1.Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
