4/17/2020 Press Conference on COVID-19 Updates

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On April 17th, Governor Baker gave a press conference to provide COVID-19 updates on Testing, PPE, Hospital Capacity, Plans to Support MA’s Shelter Community and Homeless Population, Additional Support for Foster Parents, Food Security and SNAP Benefits, and Emergency Childcare.

Here is the summary.

Testing

  • MA had a total of 8,750 tests conducted and processed yesterday. This brings the total of tests to 140,773 tests conducted in total.

  • Yesterday, there were 2,263 new cases reported. 

PPE

  • As of yesterday, MA delivered over 4 million pieces of PPE. 

    • This includes 2.3 million gloves, over 370,000 aircraft masks, almost 190,000 gowns, and 380 ventilators. 

  • Effective today, MA will distribute respirator masks (nearly 200,000) to all local law enforcements officers and firefighters statewide during the COVID-19 response. 

    • This includes sheriffs and university police.  

    • This is possible through coordination with MEMA and they have formulated their response to give each first responder 5 masks, which is equivalent to one month supply plus a spare. 

Hospital Capacity

  • As of the end of the day yesterday, there are 18,000 beds available statewide. About 10,260 (or 50%) of these beds remain available for patients. 

  • The unoccupied beds include about 6,600 acute care or non ICU beds, approximately 2,600 ICU beds, and 900 beds in the field medical hospitals. 

    • Please remember that the field medical hospital beds are only to be used if needed and by patients who have something less than an acute care need.

Plans to Support MA’s Shelter Community and Homeless Population

  • State administration’s strategy to support homeless individuals and families includes 5 key initiatives: 

    • 1.) Establishing isolation and recovery sites for COVID-19 Positive Homeless Individuals. 

      • Statewide, these sites have a 550 bed capacity and are staffed with 24/7 security and nursing staff. They are located in Everett, Lexington, Northampton, Pittsfield, and Taunton. These sites augment medical facilities at the Boston Hope field hospital and Newton Pavilion, which have 732 respite beds for homeless individuals. 

      • This support includes providing domestic violence safety planning for domestic violence survivors. 

    • 2.) Deploying supplies to support local quarantine solutions.

      • Communities are standing up quarantine sites to provide a safe place for homeless individuals who were exposed to COVID-19 but are not symptomatic. These individuals quarantine for 14 days . The administration created an expedited process for homeless shelters and municipalities to request equipment and supplies for quarantine solutions, like tents, beds, and portable showers. 

    • 3.) Supporting families in emergency assistance and domestic violence shelters.

      • The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Department of Public Health have put CDC practices into place to mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks within shelters. DHCD has made it possible to enable additional depopulation, quarantine, and isolation of families at various stages of COVID-19 exposure. 

    • 4.) Expediting PPE distribution to shelters.

      • The state has established an expedited process, Homeless Shelter COVID-19 FAQ, for homeless shelters to request PPE and other supplies necessary to maintain appropriate hygiene and sanitation. As of April 15th, MA has distributed masks, surgical masks, face shields, gloves, partitions, temperature strips, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies to 84 shelters. 

    • 5.) Providing technical assistance to organizations, municipalities seeking funding through FEMA’s public assistance program. 

      • FEMA will reimburse 75% of municipality and non-profit organization costs associated with qualifying quarantine and isolation services for people experiencing homelessness. 

      • MA has a dedicated portal to support municipalities and organizations through the grant application process. As of April 15th, 236 applicants have been processed and approved by MEMA. 

Additional Support for Foster Parents

  • DCF will be making a $100/month payment for each child in placement on the 15th of April, May, and June. The first payments will be issued later this month.

    • This is a 10-12% increase over current reimbursements for foster parents. 

    • This relief will benefit approximately 4,500 foster families who provide foster care for 6,700 children. This includes unrestricted and kinship foster families. 

Food Security and SNAP Benefits

  • Since the beginning of March, MA has seen SNAP benefit applications increase by nearly 400%. 

  • MA has received approval to issue SNAP payments to bring families benefits up to the maximum monthly amount, to extend the certification period for 6 months, and to modify the application process by forgoing the traditional in-person interview. 

  • Applicants can connect with DTA online and over the phone for all services and can check their eligibility online in 10 seconds. 

    • To get started, please go to DTAconnect.com

  • Project Bread food source hotline offers free comprehensive statewide food assistance available in 160 languages. 

  • Additional items of food have been added to the Wicks food list to support better availability on grocery store shelves. 

  • MA will be submitting a waiver request to the USDA by the end of next week in order to allow for people with SNAP benefits to be able to pick up their groceries/have their groceries come out to their car.

Emergency Childcare

  • Yesterday, the Governor signed an emergency order authorizing the Department of Early Education and Care to establish emergency sites for children and youth living in residential homes that have tested positive for COVID-19 and need to be cared for in quarantine or isolation. Please read the order here: https://www.mass.gov/doc/april-16-2020-eec-order