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Previous updates: April 26-May 3

Updates for Saturday, May 9

Mass. DPH announces 138 new COVID-19 deaths, 1,410 additional positive cases in state

The death toll in Massachusetts from COVID-19 has increased to 4,840 people on Saturday after the state’s Department of Public Health announced an additional 138 deaths in the Commonwealth from the virus.

The state also reported 1,410 additional positive cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, pushing the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Mass. to 76,743. This is the third day in a row that the number of new positive cases in Mass. has decreased.

Massachusetts has administered 10,514 new COVID-19 tests since their last coronavirus update on Friday afternoon. That brings the total number of tests performed in the state to 376,537.

Friday, May 8:

State reports 150 new COVID-19 deaths

The state reports that another 150 people have died in Massachusetts from COVID-19, bringing the state total to 4,702.

There have been another 1,612 confirmed cases. There are now 75,333 total confirmed cases in the state.

A total of 366,023 tests have been performed.

There are currently 826 cases in ICU.

Boston cancels all parades and large events until Labor Day

The City of Boston will not hold any parades or large events this summer, Mayor Marty Walsh announced in a news conference Friday afternoon.

To continue social distancing and stem the further spread of the coronavirus, the city will cancel any and all events -- including the Boston Pops July 4 show -- through the summer.

“This is up to and including Labor Day,” Mayor Walsh said.

While the pops will offer a televised experience, it’s not clear if any other city celebrations will be marked virtually.

Boston Pops will not play live on Fourth of July

Boston Pops announced Friday that it will not perform live on the Esplanade on July 4 due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Pops says it is planning a televised special instead.

Mayor Walsh has not made any announcement regarding Boston’s Fourth of July celebrations.

News conferences for Friday

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Governor Baker is set to speak at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Boston 25 News will carry both of these live on air and online.

Thursday, May 7

Mass. DPH announces new COVID-19 deaths as daily number decreases to 132 Thursday

The death toll in Massachusetts from COVID-19 has increased to 4,552 people on Thursday after Mass. DPH reported 132 new deaths from the virus in the state. That number is down from the 208 new deaths announced on Wednesday.

Additionally, Mass. DPH announced that 1,696 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Massachusetts, bringing the state’s number of positive cases to 73,721.

The state also reported that they have administered 11,993 tests for COVID-19 since their last update on Wednesday afternoon. That pushes the total number of tests performed in Massachusetts to 351,632.

Answer the call, stop the virus

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and his team of health experts took time Thursday afternoon to extol the value of answering the phone.

In this case, they mean answering the call from the state’s contact tracing team. Called the MA-COVID Team, calls from them will show up on your phone with either an 833 or 857 area code if they don’t show up as “MA-COVID Team.”

It’s important to answer the call, Baker says, because you may have been in contact with someone who had the virus. You may be feeling fine or not showing symptoms, but you could still be a carrier of the virus.

Dairy Farmers of America donating 8,600 gallons of milk to local families

The organization Dairy Farmers of America is donating more than 8,000 gallons of milk to families in need.

As a dairy cooperative owned by family farmers across the country, we are dedicated to helping provide nutritious food for family tables.

—  Jennifer Hudson - Council Affairs and Industry Relations for DFA Northeast

The milk drive-up event is being held at Boston College High School from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or while supplies last.

There is a limit of two gallons of milk per car or walk-up.

Instructions for people arriving in cars:

• Line up along Morrissey Boulevard
• Follow the direction of Mass. State Police, the National Guard and MEMA
• Stay in the car. The milk will be brought to you

Instructions for walk-up arrivals:

• Line up at the entrance to the high school on Morrissey Boulevard
• Everyone must wear a face covering and adhere to social distancing guidelines

Local farmers giving away gallons of free milk Members of MEMA and the National Guard will be giving away free gallons of milk until 4 pm on Thursday.

Mass. unemployment claims dip only slightly at 55,000 last week

Another 55,000 people in Massachusetts filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to new numbers released by the federal government.

The total of 55,448 is about 15,000 fewer than the week prior.

Roughly 33.5 million people across the country have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since the coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their work forces. That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5%.

Wednesday, May 6

Mass. DPH announces spike in new COVID-19 deaths as daily number jumps to 208 Wednesday

The death toll in Massachusetts from COVID-19 has increased to 4,420 people on Wednesday after Mass. DPH reported 208 new deaths from the virus in the state. That number is an 86-person spike from Tuesday when 122 new deaths were announced.

Additionally, Mass. DPH announced that 1,754 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Massachusetts, bringing the state’s number of positive cases to 72,025. The number of new positive cases in the state jumped by nearly 600 cases one day after the state’s Department of Public Health reported 1,184 new cases on Tuesday.

The state also reported that they have administered 6,290 tests for COVID-19 since their last update on Tuesday afternoon. That pushes the total number of tests performed in Massachusetts to 339,639.

Walmart stores in Abington and Avon closing due to COVID-19

Two additional Walmart stores in Massachusetts will be closing their doors due to COVID-19.

Boston 25 News reached out to Walmart’s Corporate Communications team for more information.

We have taken the impact of COVID-19 to the area, and the ongoing threat to our associates and customers, very seriously and have not hesitated to close our Abington, Quincy and Worcester stores. With that in mind, we have decided to temporarily close our store in Avon and will once again close our store in Abington.

—  Eddie Bostic, Regional General Manager - Massachusetts, Walmart U.S.

This is the second time the Abington Walmart voluntarily closed due to COVID-19.

Walmart has provided a partial list of measures used in their Boston-area stores in response to COVID-19:

• Installing sneeze guards at registers
• Limiting the number of customers in the store at any time
• One-way aisle shopping
• Social distancing signage
• Providing masks, gloves and hand sanitizers for associates
• Initiating temperature checks before shifts
• New COVID-19 leave policy for associates

Related: Worcester Walmart closed to public after 23 employees test positive for COVID-19

Related: Quincy Walmart closed after worker dies from COVID-19

News conferences for Wednesday

Governor Baker will speak at approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday, after the Fighter Wing flyover.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will speak at approximately 2 p.m.

Boston 25 News will carry these live on air and online.

Tuesday, May 5

COVID-19 deaths increase again as Mass. DPH announces 122 new fatalities

One day after the state reported the lowest daily death total since April 12, COVID-19 deaths increased again in Massachusetts as the state’s Department of Public Health announced 122 more people have died from the virus as of May 5.

That is a 36-death increase from Monday’s number and pushes the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Massachusetts to 4,212 people.

The state also reported an additional 1,184 positive cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, an increase of 184 cases compared to Monday’s number. In total, there are 70,271 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mass., according to the state’s DPH.

Massachusetts reported that 9,081 new tests have been administered since Monday, upping the number of tests for COVID-19 performed in the state to 333,349.

54 residents of Medford nursing home dead, over half infected

A coronavirus outbreak at Courtyard Nursing Care Center in Medford has left 54 residents dead and more than half infected in just four weeks.

The 224-bed facility is owned by Genesis Healthcare. According to a statement issued by Genesis Chief Medical Officer Dr. Richard Feifer, 117 residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19, and an additional 54 residents have died from the disease. In total, 42 staff members have also tested positive for coronavirus.

Read more

Monday, May 4

Daily COVID-19 deaths increase as Mass. DPH reports 86 new deaths, 1,000 new cases

Deaths in Massachusetts from coronavirus have increased as the state’s Department of Public Health announced that 86 more people have died from the coronavirus as of Monday. In total, 4,090 people have died in Massachusetts from COVID-19. This is the lowest daily death total in Massachusetts since Sunday, April 12.

Mass. DPH also announced 1,000 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the state. With the latest Monday numbers, the total amount of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Massachusetts has risen to 69,087 people.​

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh updates on COVID-19

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh spoke outside City Hall Monday afternoon.

Walsh said 28,000 residents have now been tested for COVID-19, with 32 percent of those people testing positive. He said 28,000 is about 4 percent of the population of the city.

There are currently about 9,929 cases in the city. At Boston Hope, the temporary hospital set up in the BCEC, has abotu 161 patients being treated for COVID-19.

He said all Boston Public Schools students will move on to the next grade level next year, none will be held back. He also noted it’s teacher appreciation week and expressed his gratitude for the work teachers are doing to continue students’ education remotely.

Walsh said the city is also launching a new food program this week to distribute 2,400 boxes of food.

“We are collectively talking -- as mayors -- about how we are going to operate,” Walsh said. “We have some rocky road ahead when it comes to budgeting.”

He said the city will continue to make investments and find ways to solve fiscal issues created by COVID-19.

Boston Violence

When asked about violence over the weekend, in which a shooting left one person dead in Roxbury, Walsh said he is asking Boston Police Commissioner Gross to look into whether anyone potentially involved was part of a COVID-19 prompted release from incarceration.

Gov. Charlie Baker updates on COVID-19

Baker said that officials are seeing positive evidence that COVID-19 hospitalization cases have been decreasing and that numbers are trending in the right direction.

He said 904 people are currently in the intensive care unit in Massachusetts hospitals with coronavirus, and certain parts of the state are seeing fewer cases than others, including the Cape and Western Massachusetts, while Boston remains flat.

He said people are returning to visit their doctors for reasons that aren’t coronavirus related.

“If you feel very sick you should go to the ED [emergency department],” Baker said.

He doesn’t want people putting off necessary medical procedures because they’re afraid they can’t be treated.

He reiterated the fact that a large number of carriers are asymptomatic, never knowing they had or have coronavirus, and that a face covering is as much about protecting you from other people as protecting other people from you.

Mass. Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said that the Reopening Advisory Board has met with 23 different industry associates about what restarting the economy will look like, including construction and restaurants.

“May 18 is not a magical date,” Polito said. "It’s the date the reopening report will be released, it will outline a phased-in reopening” she said.

“It does not mean the economy in the state will re-open,” she added.

News conferences for today

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is set to give an update at 1:30 p.m.

Boston 25 News will bring these updates to you live on air and online.

RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

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