STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE IN THE WEEK between August 7 and August 14, almost 2,700 fully vaccinated people became infected with COVID-19 in Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health said Tuesday. There have been a cumulative 12,641 breakthrough infections reported out of 4,415,936 fully vaccinated people as of Aug. 14, DPH said Tuesday — meaning […]
coronavirus
Posted inUncategorized
Baker: No plans to change COVID policies
ALTHOUGH COVID-19 CASE numbers are rising in Massachusetts and nationally, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that he does not intend to reinstate any statewide COVID-related rules. “We’re not looking at changing any of our existing rules or policies,” Baker said, speaking at a press conference in Sandwich. As of Wednesday, there were 457 new COVID-19 […]
Posted inEconomy
COVID brought long-lasting changes to restaurant industry
FOOD IS A cornerstone of culture, connection, and prosperity, and restaurants are the hubs of our mealtime traditions. But last spring, the coronavirus brought Boston’s lively restaurant scene to a grinding halt. “The city was literally a ghost town,” remembers Bob Luz, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. He visited the city early […]
Posted inEconomy
Legislative budget writer says Baker ignored law in spending plan
A TOP LEGISLATIVE budget writer on Tuesday accused Gov. Charlie Baker of violating state law with his plan to immediately spend $186 million of federal recovery money on health care and job training initiatives. “It was the intent of the Legislature that $200 million was ‘break glass in case of emergency’ funds,” Senate Ways and […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons to learn from the pandemic
WHEN THE PANDEMIC passes, what then? What will we do differently to expand opportunity to the most vulnerable and hardest hit? We’ve seen the disparities. Black Americans are 2.6 times more likely to get COVID-19 and more than two times more likely to die from it than white Americans, the Centers for Disease Control reports. […]
Posted inHealth Care
All Mass. adults eligible for vaccines April 19
ALL ADULTS LIVING in Massachusetts will become eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine beginning on April 19, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. That does not mean, however, that everyone will be able to immediately get a shot, since getting a dose will depend on how much supply becomes available from the federal government. “It will […]
Posted inUncategorized
New pandemic take on undocumented immigrant licenses
SUPPORTERS OF LEGISLATION authorizing the issuance of driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants this year decided to reframe the message, which comes amid a national pandemic. They say the licenses are necessary during COVID-19 because immigrants need the ability to drive to medical care, and safer passage to their jobs as essential workers. Many of Massachusetts’ […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
DOC: Few prisoners would qualify for home confinement
UNDER PRESSURE to release prisoners to home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic, the Massachusetts Department of Correction is downplaying the program’s impact, saying only about 20 to 25 of the state’s 6,700 inmates could be released at a time. The agency, responding to questions as part of a lawsuit brought by Prisoners’ Legal Services in […]
Posted inEducation
COVID-19 cases in Mass. schools up sharply
STATE EDUCATION OFFICIALS reported a 41 percent increase in coronavirus cases identified in Massachusetts schools from October 22 to October 28 compared to the previous 7-day period. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported 286 new coronavirus cases in schools over the recent 7-day reporting period, up from 202 during the week of October 15 to 22. Of the new cases, 201 were diagnosed in […]
Posted inEducation
Role of school rapid testing debated
IT WAS THE end of March when the state’s Department of Public Health began reporting more than 1,000 new cases of coronavirus daily. Schools were shuttered, students were home, and infrastructure to gauge and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 did not exist. The phrases “rapid testing” and “contact tracing” were unknown by the American public. […]