Local COVID-19 updates
May. 11th, 2020 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edschweppeAs of 4PM this afternoon, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 129 more deaths from COVID-19 (for a total of 5,108 to date), 669 new cases (for a total of 78,462) and 6,339 more tests performed (for a total of 394,728).
Governor Baker described a four-phase approach to reopening the state's economy in his press conference today, although he gave remarkably few details as to exactly what businesses would reopen and when:
I'm not holding my breath at this point; compared to last Monday's dashboard, the number of newly reported deaths is up and the number of tests is way down. On the other hand, weekend numbers have seemed to be a lot noisier than midweek numbers, and it is true that the case and death counts appear to be trending downward over the last couple of weeks.
It's also probably a good thing that Baker is taking seriously the potential of reverting to prior phases, all the way back to the current Stay-at-Home phase, if public health metrics deteriorate enough.
The town of Acton has yet to post an update today; yesterday's report listed 121 confirmed cases in town; 52 of those being "cases in isolation that are actively being monitored".
Governor Baker described a four-phase approach to reopening the state's economy in his press conference today, although he gave remarkably few details as to exactly what businesses would reopen and when:
Governor Charlie Baker said Monday that the state plans to reopen its economy in four phases beginning around May 18, though data on coronavirus infections and hospitalizations will determine "whether we actually hit that goal."
Speaking during his daily State House briefing, Baker said the four phases will be dubbed Start, Cautious, Vigilant, and The New Normal.
But in announcing plans, Baker did not include a number of key details, including which industries could reopen when, how long each phase would last, or what requirements specific businesses could face. He said much of that information would be released by May 18.
[ ... ]
A PowerPoint presentation during the briefing laid out a few details of the four phases. The Start phase will feature limited industries resuming operations with severe restrictions, the document said. Baker said those industries will be entities "more naturally set up" for little face-to-face interaction between customers and employees.
During the second Cautious phase, the PowerPoint said, additional industries will reopen "with restrictions and capacity limits," followed by the Vigilant phase, when more businesses will open "with guidance." The final fourth phase will correspond with the development of a "vaccine and/or therapy" that "enables resumption of 'new normal,'" the document said.
Baker said information will be released in the coming days regarding which "industries and activities" can resume during the initial phase.
I'm not holding my breath at this point; compared to last Monday's dashboard, the number of newly reported deaths is up and the number of tests is way down. On the other hand, weekend numbers have seemed to be a lot noisier than midweek numbers, and it is true that the case and death counts appear to be trending downward over the last couple of weeks.
It's also probably a good thing that Baker is taking seriously the potential of reverting to prior phases, all the way back to the current Stay-at-Home phase, if public health metrics deteriorate enough.
The town of Acton has yet to post an update today; yesterday's report listed 121 confirmed cases in town; 52 of those being "cases in isolation that are actively being monitored".