4/2/2020 Press Conference on COVID-19 Updates

/

On April 2nd, Governor Baker gave a press conference to provide a COVID-19 update on Coronavirus Emergency Medical Preparations, PPE Supply, Battelle N95 Decontamination System, Pilot program for On-Site Testing in Nursing Homes, Chelsea Soldiers Home, and Holyoke Soldiers Home.

Here is the summary.

Coronavirus Emergency Medical Preparations

  • Command Center has been working on a coordinated response based on how the emergency medical surge may appear.

    • The state is planning for the worst-case scenario. 

  • Estimated numbers around virus surge: 

    • We will prepare to see a low number of 47,000 to a high number of 172,000 cases during the course of the pandemic.

      • This is about .7% to 2.5% of the total population of MA that will be infected.

    • The high peak for emergency medical cases will be from April 10th - 20th.

    • The current fatality rate in MA is at 1.5% which is lower than many other parts of the country and in the world.

      • This does not decrease the need for everyone to continue practicing social distancing.

  • The state is currently working to establish another 500 ICU beds as well as ventilators and other medical supplies.

  • The state is establishing 750-1000 more field hospital beds.

    • The field medical station that is currently open is at the DCU Center in Worcester. Two additional field medical sites will be set up in MA soon.

    • For non-COVID-19 care, the state has been working on developing other alternative care sites.

PPE Supply

  • Working with the People’s Republic of China and the Kraft Family, MA has received nearly 1,000,095 masks for our healthcare workers and emergency responders from Shenzhen, China. 

  • Today, MEMA and DPH will be delivering over 100 shipments of PPE to hospitals, nursing homes, police/fire/EMS, cities, and towns. 

    • By the end of today, MEMA and DPH will have coordinated at least 700 deliveries of PPE.

Battelle N95 Decontamination System

  • Partners HealthCare has been able to secure the Battelle N95 decontamination system.

    • Scheduled to be operational by Monday, April 6th.

    •  This system uses FDA approved N95 decontamination technology and is the 4th site operational in the US.

    • The system can decontaminate up to 80,000 masks a day.

    • Each N95 mask’s lifespan will be 5-10x longer before it has to be disposed of. 

Updates on Pilot program for On-Site Testing in Nursing Homes

  • They currently have the MA National Guard deployed alongside medical professionals to conduct testing at 700 long term care facilities including 380 nursing homes, 255 assisted living residences, and 62 rest homes. 

    • At this point, the State has identified COVID-19 clusters in about 78 facilities.

Update on Chelsea Soldiers Home

  • Chelsea Soldiers Home has implemented a plan for COVID-19.

    • This includes cleaning measures, increased use of PPE, restriction of visitors, increased personal hygiene measures, and increased disinfection protocols.

  • On Wednesday, The Boston VA healthcare system deployed a medical team to test residents at the Chelsea facility.

    • The test results included 9 veterans who are now tested positive and seven staff have tested: two positives, two negatives, and three pending. Two veterans have passed away.

Update on Holyoke Soldiers Home

  • All residents have been tested in the Holyoke Soldiers Home. 

  • The latest numbers show that there have been 18 veteran deaths, 12 veteran residents who have tested positive, 3 results that are pending, 2 that were negative and 1 that is unknown.

    • There have been 7 staff members who have tested positive.

  • The National Guard is supporting all staff and medical personnel in the location. 

  • Medical testing and screening for all employees continue to be a standard.