The number of COVID-19 fatalities in Massachusetts surged upwards Tuesday as the state reported the deaths of 96 residents and the number of confirmed cases in the Bay State surpassed 15,000. Twenty-six of the newly deceased were western Massachusetts residents.
The 96 deaths reported Tuesday is nearly three times as many as had been reported in a single day up until this point, though the state noted that Tuesday's daily update "reflect[s] deaths occurring over the weekend and the past 24 hours." The state had already reported 24 deaths on Saturday and 15 deaths Sunday.
So far, the highly-contagious coronavirus has claimed the lives of 356 people in Massachusetts. By comparison, there were 262 firearm deaths in the state throughout 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The Department of Public Health said Tuesday that there are now 15,202 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, an increase of 1,365 or about 9.8% from Monday.
Between midday Monday and midday Tuesday, an additional 4,915 new tests were conducted. A grand total of 81,344 residents have been tested.
Grim choices if health care system overwhelmed
With the expected surge in COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization hitting as soon as Friday, the state on Tuesday issued guidance to help providers make the grim choice about which patients to prioritize if resources won't allow for the same level of care for all patients, advising the doctors treat the young and most likely to survive first.
"This guidance is intended to provide a unified, transparent framework that supports consistent hospital and provider decision-making aimed at maximizing the number of life years saved," the report states. "The overwhelming need for care created by a disaster would necessitate a shift of focus from the absolute care of each individual to promoting the conscientious stewardship of limited resources intended to result in the best possible health outcomes for the population as a whole."
In a crisis, patients could be given a score of one to four points based on their prognosis for hospital survival, with an additional two to four points added for major to severe underlying health conditions in addition to COVID-19 that would limit life expectancy.
Priority for equipment like ventilators and other life-saving equipment would be given to patients with lower scores on the eight-point scale. Pregnant women could have up to two points deducted from their scores and "heightened priority" should be given to health care workers needed to care for other coronavirus-infected patients, the guidance recommends.
Meanwhile, the governor announced Tuesday a plan to invest another $800 million in the state's health care industry — supplementing $840 million in previously announced assistance — as the state works to bulk up its front line of defense against the forthcoming surge.
Continued trouble at nursing homes, and soldiers' homes
Nearly 1,000 of the Massachusetts' COVID-19 cases are among residents or employees at long-term care facilities. DPH reported Tuesday that 958 residents or workers had tested positive and that COVID-19 has been detected at 129 long-term care facilities around the state.
The state Tuesday also released updated numbers on outbreaks at the state-run Soldiers' Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke. The numbers of recently deceased veterans from the Holyoke facility did not change from Monday, remaining at 25. The numbers also show no new test results for the dead, with 18 testing positive, three testing negative, three test pending, and one listed as "unknown."
Of the living veterans at the Holyoke home, 65 have now tested positive for COVID-19, an increase of six from Monday's report. The number of employees testing positive more than doubled, from 31 Monday to 67 on Tuesday.
At the Chelsea Soldiers' Home, five residents have recently died, with four positive tests and one pending. In addition, 14 living residents and nine staff have tested positive.
Baystate CEO: Current tests only scratch the surface
More than 1,500 residents of western Massachusetts have tested positive for the disease. But the CEO of Baystate Health, Dr. Mark Keroack, said Tuesday he believes the real numbers are actually much higher.
"I think that we're testing far fewer people than we would want to test ideally, because of the lack of chemicals and swabs and all that sort of thing," Keroack said in an NEPR interview. "And I've always sort of kept in the back of my head that there are probably 10 times as many real infections out there, as we're detecting through our testing process."
Keroack said the situation in western Massachusetts should be helped by a new testing site at the Big E in West Springfield, which could open by the end of this week.
Connecticut governor sees "flattening"
Gov. Ned Lamont said there are indications the surge of COVID-19 cases is "flattening out." Officials say the state has averaged about 90 admissions a day for the past five days.
Governor Ned Lamont acknowledged Tuesday that five days does not make a trend.
“But five days is five days," he said. "And the week before that there were about 102 hospitalizations. So at least we can say we seem to be flattening out. And what does that mean? It means it gives our hospitals some more capacity. It gives them more time to plan.”
Lamont said it also means that the peak in Connecticut may be somewhat mitigated thanks to strict social distancing.
Meanwhile, Hartford police have designated a special unit to handle a surge in domestic violence calls believed to be linked to social isolation measures put in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Elsewhere in New England
The number of COVID-19 cases in Vermont increased to 575, up 32 from Monday. The number of deaths tied to COVID-19 in Vermont held at 23.
Rhode Island officials reported three more deaths in their update Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 30, with 1,229 people testing positive.
Maine's death toll increased by two in the Tuesday update, to 12. The state has announced 519 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
New Hampshire's total of COVID-19-related deaths increased by four in Tuesday's update, totaling 13. To date, 747 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in New Hampshire.
Technical glitches on (virtual) Beacon Hill
Lawmakers continue to work slowly in response to the pandemic, with bills piling up and only a few passed. Despite the coronavirus taking over most attention, House Speaker Robert DeLeo said Monday that he hopes to see action on climate change and transportation financing legislation by the end of formal lawmaking sessions, which he may try to extend beyond the traditional July 31 deadline.
Any progress toward planning for an inevitable financial hit was stunted Tuesday when lawmakers had to call off a high-profile hearing about the state's economic outlook half an hour into its scheduled runtime because they could not get the livestream running. They will try again next Tuesday.
Field hospital almost ready at Boston's convention center
The 1,000-bed coronavirus field hospital planned for the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in the city's seaport will be ready to open as soon as Thursday, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said Tuesday.
"When it opens later this week, the BCEC medical center will have 1,000 total beds, six acute care suites, a physical therapy suite, 52 nursing stations, 48 bathroom facilities, 500 of these beds will be dedicated to patients struggling or homeless and the remaining 500 will be for other patients," Walsh said.
Walsh said the first patients at the BCEC will likely be homeless Bostonians who test positive for COVID-19. The city said Tuesday that it had identified about 200 cases of COVID-19 among the city's homeless population.
Walsh said the 250 beds planned for specialized care for homeless individuals at the Newton Pavilion, a former Boston Medical Center hospital building the state now owns, will be ready by this weekend or early next week.
NEPR's Kari Njiiri, Heather Brandon and Sam Hudzik contributed to this report, which includes information from WSHU, State House News Service and The Associated Press.
