3/30/2020 Press Conference on COVID-19 Updates

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On March 30th, the Governor gave a press conference to provide a COVID-19 update on a new portal for PPE donations, a new project to recruit medical professionals, the unemployment assistance process as it relates to the Federal CARES Act, and MassHealth Connector Updates.

Here is the summary.

Testing and PPE Update

  • Over the weekend, the Commonwealth conducted close to 10,000 new tests for COVID-19. This brings the total number of tests to 40,000 statewide. On Saturday and Sunday, we exceeded our goal of 3500 tests a day.

  • Over the weekend, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at Health and Human Services at the Federal level approved the state’s request for at least 1,000 ventilators.

  • Last week, more than 28,000 masks and 120,000 pairs of gloves were distributed. The state currently has approximately $50 million in order for additional supply.

  • Yesterday, the command center launched an online portal where individuals and companies can donate or contract with the Commonwealth to supply PPE. The portal is also for businesses who may not have gear to send, but do have facilities that can be properly converted to generate supplies. These are the necessary supplies:

    • N95 masks

    • Surgical masks

    • Respirators

    • Goggles

    • Gloves

    • Protective gowns

    • Hand sanitizer

  • To donate goods for use in MA’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency please visit: https://www.mass.gov/forms/covid-19-donation-program  

  • To provide information about goods you are looking to sell to support MA’s COVID-19 response efforts please visit: https://www.mass.gov/forms/covid-19-procurement-program  

  • To adapt your business to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) please visit: https://masstech.org/M-ERT

Project to Recruit Medical Professionals

  • This weekend the state partnered with the MA Medical Society to match health and medical volunteers with our communities and health care providers based on skill sets and requirements. There is an immediate need for respiratory therapists and public health nurses.

    • More than 1800 people have already registered and if you are interested, please sign up at mass.gov/covid19

  • This week, the COVID-19 command center is establishing a set of dedicated skilled nursing facilities to care for older adults who are infected with COVID-19 in order to relieve pressure on hospitals. The state’s goal is to have about 1,000 beds available for older residents as we plan for the COVID-19 surge.

    • We have received federal approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement this program and will continue to increase bed capacity to prepare for the surge. 

Update on unemployment benefits

  • Last week, Congress passed the CARES Act (Federal Relief Package) that includes significant resources for unemployment insurance. 

  • This legislation will provide unemployment compensation to individuals who do not currently participate in the unemployment insurance system and therefore not covered under the existing federal unemployment law.

    • This includes individuals who are: self-employed, who do contract work, who get paid using 1099, who have exhausted their weeks of unemployment benefits, and individuals who do not have sufficient earnings over the last year to qualify for state unemployment would also be eligible for this program.

  • The CARES Act also extends the number of available weeks of benefits for all claimants and supports the claimant’s weekly benefit amount by $600 for the next four months.

What now?

  • States are still waiting for guidance from the Federal government on how to implement and start distributing these funds. Guidance will include application requirements, business rules, eligibility determinations, exceptions, and technical requirements.

  • Please be aware that these benefits are not available to be applied for today as the program has not been implemented yet. MA residents seeking these new Federal benefits should not apply through the State’s current unemployment platform at this time. 

  • Any updates on this will be posted on mass.gov/unemployment/covid19 as soon as they are available.

Massachusetts Healthcare Connector Update

  • Secretary Sudders has authorized the Massachusetts Healthcare Connector to delay terminations and service disruptions by delaying batch system jobs that terminate users for a variety of periodic reasons around lack of submitted documentation on a timely basis, data matching, and inconsistencies. 

Buoy

  • Please remember MA has now launched Buoy, a free online resource for MA residents to receive medical guidance in the safety of their homes. As of this morning, Buoy has been used by 19,645 people so far.

    • Please visit bouy.com/mass to find medical advice remotely. 

  • Please do not substitute Buoy with emergency medical care.