(no subject)

[edschweppe]

As of 4PM [1] this afternoon, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is reporting 167 more deaths from COVID-19 (for a total of 5,482 to date), 1,685 new cases (for a total of 82,182) and 14,329 more tests reported (for a total of 424,361).

Still no clear decision from Governor Baker as to which businesses can reopen and when, despite the pleadings of folks like the Chamber of Commerce. However, the Governor did have quite a bit to say about testing at his press conference today, including plans to more than double the state's testing capacity by September:

Calling expanded COVID-19 testing a key component of reopening the Massachusetts economy, Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that the state hopes to ramp up capacity to 45,000 tests per day by the end of July and 75,000 tests daily by the end of December.

"Expanding testing is critical to opening workplaces and businesses," Baker said. "I think we all know that. Our testing plan will improve our ability to rapidly identify new cases of COVID-19, so individuals can quickly isolate, seek treatment, and limit their exposures to others at home or at work."

The state currently has the capacity for about 30,000 tests per day, Baker said.

[ ... ]

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases climbed by 1,685 to 82,182, as the state’s daily percentage of positive tests dipped slightly to 12 percent, and continued to show a general decline from mid-April highs of 33 and 34 percent. The seven-day average for positive test rates, a number closely watched by public health experts, stayed stable at 12 percent, continuing a downward trend from April highs.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 also dropped below 3,000 for the first time since mid-April.

Speaking during his daily briefing, Baker said CVS is opening 10 new drive-up testing sites at store locations in Charlton, Worcester, Raynham, Northampton, Bridgewater, Carver, West Springfield, Danvers, Westport and Wellesley. He said residents who meet testing criteria can schedule appointments starting Friday online at CVS.com.

State public health officials, Baker said, recently expanded criteria for testing eligibility to symptomatic people and their close contacts.

He said officials currently aren’t recommending universal testing but instead are focused on high-risk areas and populations, such as people who work in "congregate care settings" and "24-hour settings." Additional testing focus, Baker said, will be on communities with low testing availability, hot spots with high positive rates, and high-density areas.

[ ... ]

He reiterated that Massachusetts remains one of the most hardest hit states in the country by the virus.

"We’re top 4 or top 5 in every awful category you can think of," Baker said. "And while we’ve seen declining rates of positive test results, and while we have seen declining rates of covid hospitalizations and ICU bed days over the course of the past few weeks, we continue to be a state that has a significant number of people who test positive every day. … And our health care system continues to carry a fairly significant load on this."

Pressed to identify a public health metric on the virus that he pays especially close attention to, Baker cited ICU admissions.

"I think anything associated with the ICU stuff is important to us, because it’s a really important element in helping people get better, especially people who get really sick," Baker said.

Woods. Out of. Not at all.

Yet.

The town of Acton has yet to post an update today; yesterday's report listed 140 confirmed cases in town (up from 136 the day before). 72 cases were reported as being "cases in isolation that are actively being monitored" (up from 68 the day before). I continue to have no idea what rhyme or reason may be behind the times that Acton posts its updates.

[1] These are still officially 4PM numbers; however, the update didn't actually post until after 6. No explanation given as to why there was a delay.