Local COVID-19 updates

As of 4PM this afternoon, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting ... a bunch of changes to their daily reports:

Today, the Department of Public Health will begin reporting both confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases and deaths.
This change is in accordance with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control to include "probable" COVID-19 cases and deaths in data collection and reporting efforts.
This change will increase the number of cases and deaths reported in Massachusetts. Today’s newly reported totals are a result of a retrospective review of probable cases and deaths dating back to March 1, 2020.
Probable cases are individuals who have not been tested by the standard viral (molecular) test. They have either 1) had a positive antibody test and either had COVID symptoms or were likely to be exposed to a positive case or 2) did not have an antibody test but had COVID symptoms and were known to be exposed to a positive case.
Probable cases also include individuals whose death certificate listed COVID-19 as a cause of death but who were not tested.
Also included is data on the total number daily and cumulative COVID-19 antibody tests performed. Antibody tests are blood tests used to determine if a person had COVID-19 in the past and now has antibodies against the virus.
Molecular, or viral, testing, which is performed by nasal swab, is conducted to determine if an individual is currently infected with COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, DPH has reported on the number of confirmed cases and deaths that had a POSITIVE COVID-19 molecular test result

(emphasis in the original)

As a result, the headline numbers for today (now including probable cases) are 189 new deaths (for a total of 7,035), 3,840 new cases (for a total of 100,805) and 7,066 new "molecular" tests (for a total of 599,919); in addition, the state is reporting 202 new antibody tests, for a total of 45,860. There were a total of 48 new confirmed deaths (for a total of 6,894) and 326 new confirmed cases (for a total of 97,291). The ratio of new confirmed cases to molecular test results is 4.6%.

I've been logging these numbers on a day-by-day basis so I can have my own feeling for the trends; I'm simultaneously glad for data and slightly frustrated that making apples-to-apples comparisons just got trickier. The overall trends are clearly good, but I've noticed a tendency for weekend declines to be followed by unpleasant jumps on the next business day.

I also didn't see much in the way of commentary from Governor Baker about the pandemic being reported today; the vast majority of the news today is focused on the protests against racist policemen killing black civilians, triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. I did see an article in the Globe reporting on a lawsuit claiming the Governor's emergency orders to be unlawful:

A group of salons, restaurants, and religious organizations, with the backing of a local conservative group, sued Governor Charlie Baker in state court Monday in a bid to overturn the emergency powers he’s wielded during the coronavirus pandemic, comparing them to the authority of a king.

The lawsuit, filed in Worcester County Superior Court, seeks to void Baker’s March 10 state of emergency order, as well as the dozens of orders he’s issued since, including those shuttering businesses, banning large gatherings, and requiring residents to wear face masks in public if they can’t socially distance.

[ ... ]

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 10 plaintiffs — including hair and tanning salon owners, a North End restaurateur, and two church pastors — and by a pair of attorneys: Michael P. DeGrandis, of the New Civil Liberties Alliance; and Danielle Huntley Webb, an attorney and board chair of the the Fiscal Alliance Foundation.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates against what it calls the "unconstitutional administrative state," and counts among its initial donors the Charles Koch Foundation, according to nonprofit filings.

The Fiscal Alliance Foundation acts as a legal assistance arm of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a Boston-based conservative nonprofit known for shielding its donors, and is supporting the lawsuit, according to spokesman Paul Craney.

No reaction from the Governor as yet.

As of 8:30 PM tonight, the town of Acton is reporting 169 cumulative cases, 39 individuals in isolation, 109 persons recovered from the virus, and 21 fatalities. The town also reports that Town Meeting (originally scheduled for April 6) will be held on June 29:

The Annual Town own Meeting will be held on Monday, June 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Acton-Boxborough Regional High School upper gymnasium (also referred to as the Field House). The total number of warrant articles have been reduced to complete the meeting's business in one session. The state and local safety guidelines will be in effect including restricted occupancy, masks and social distancing. There will be contactless check-in and a minimum six feet separation between attendees. Article presentations will be limited, distance microphones will be utilized and clickers for voting will not be used. Town officials plan to have article presentations pre-recorded and posted online ahead of the meeting. The Warrant will be posted no later than Monday, June 15 on the town website, and will printed and mailed to residents.

The town's actual Town Meeting webpage has not yet been updated with the above information. The "Town own Meeting" typo is taken verbatim from the COVID-19 announcement page.