Massachusetts

Eugene

(62,657 posts) Mon Apr 20, 2020, 07:01 PM Apr 2020

Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge

Source: Associated Press

Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER
April 20, 2020

Massachusetts has become a hot spot of coronavirus infections, drawing the concern of federal officials and promises of aid from hard-hit New York as the state’s death toll prepares to double in less than a week.

Deaths from COVID-19 are expected to surpass 2,000 this week in Massachusetts, where officials are scrambling to boost hospital capacity and trace new infections to curb the spread of the disease.

“We’re right in the middle of the surge now,” Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Vice President Mike Pence said the White House is closely watching the Boston area, and the coordinator of the federal coronavirus task force, Dr. Deborah Birx, said officials are “very much focused” on Massachusetts.

There were 103 new deaths reported in Massachusetts on Monday, bringing the state’s death toll to more than 1,800. More than 1,500 new cases were reported, for a total of more than 39,500 across the state. That compares with more than 14,000 deaths in New York state and over 35,000 nationally.

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Massachusetts becomes coronavirus hot spot as cases surge (Original Post) Eugene Apr 2020 OP

Gov Cuomo is paying back the favor Mass did for for the.j................ riversedge Apr 2020 #1

riversedge

(73,132 posts)

1. Gov Cuomo is paying back the favor Mass did for for the.j................

Reply to Eugene (Original post)

Mon Apr 20, 2020, 07:26 PM

Apr 2020

As the number of hospitalizations and deaths dropped in New York, which had been the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S., Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged to send 400 ventilators to Massachusetts, if needed.

“You were there for us and we are going to be there for you,” Cuomo said Sunday.

Two field hospitals designed to deal with an expected surge of COVID-19 patients opened Monday in Massachusetts, joining two other sites that have been up and running. A fifth one is expected to open in about a week.

There were more than 150 patients on Saturday at a medical center called Boston Hope set up at the city’s convention center. The 1,000-bed hospital could reach capacity as the cases peak, officials said.

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