Restaurants in Massachusetts can seat 10 people per table, use bar seating starting Sept. 28
Restaurants in Massachusetts can expand seating of up to 10 people per table and utilize bar seating starting Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Wednesday.
An applause echoed throughout Mill City BBQ and Brew in Lowell when Baker announced the new regulations. Baker emphasized that bars and nightclubs will remain closed, though.
Vt. Schools See Success With Outdoor Class Amid COVID: 'I Love It Outside'
During the coronavirus pandemic, Vermont schools are holding classes outdoors more than ever.
At the Lake Champlain Waldorf School in Shelburne, third grade students were wearing hats and coats outdoors Tuesday, but their study of phonetics and parts of speech was otherwise the same as it would have been inside.
“We feel really inspired that we’re not just making the best of a bad situation, we’re actually stepping in to something new,” said Jas Darland, Lake Champlain Waldorf's head of school.
What We Know About the Merrimack College Coronavirus Outbreak
As 266 students remain in isolation, officials at Merrimack College are waiting on 150 test results to understand the breadth of the school's coronavirus outbreak.
At least 20 students have tested positive so far on the campus in Andover, Massachusetts, including 17 who live in the same dorm. Hundreds of students are now under quarantine orders in Monican residence hall.
School officials decided to issue an isolation order after
17 people tested positive in the past week, according to an email sent to students Tuesday by President Christopher Hopey.
Marlboro High School Goes Remote After 7 Students Test Positive for Coronavirus
None of the students who tested positive have been to school and the cases are not necessarily connected, according to the vice chair of the Marlboro School Committee (massachusetts)
Not even a week into the start of the school year, Marlboro High will pivot to remote learning after seven students tested positive for coronavirus.
In a sudden decision from the Marlboro School Committee, members voted Tuesday night to have high school students learn online starting Thursday. The district started school Monday under a hybrid learning model, which combines in-person and online instruction.
Gov. Baker questions decison-making on school reopenings
(Massachusetts)
Gov. Charlie Baker chided cities and towns that have abruptly abandoned plans to bring students back to the classroom because of small outbreaks of COVID-19, urging local leaders to look for trends in virus transmission and not make snap decisions based on a single party or cluster of infection.
Coronavirus Hospitalizations Rising in Massachusetts
Despite the increase in the number of patients hospitalized, officials reported no change in the 7-day weighted average positive test rate, which stayed at a record low of 0.8% in Sunday's report
The number of patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 crept up over the weekend as state officials reported more than 900 new confirmed cases of the highly infectious virus and 41 more deaths.
Active hospitalizations rose to 364 in
the Department of Public Health's Sunday data report, 26 more than in Friday's report and 51 more than the Sept. 13 update. Of those counted Sunday, 61 are in intensive care units and 34 are intubated. The rolling average number of active hospitalizations in Sunday's report was 19% higher than the record low of 302 set in late August, health officials said.
UMass Memorial stockpiling PPE for coming flu season and possible coronavirus second wave
Henry Lopez, director of supply chain logistics for UMass Memorial Medical Center, said close to 20,000-square-feet of PPE is being stored in a 51,000-square-foot distribution center off campus.
“We’re averaging about three months-plus of inventory on our PPE that would have been part of our initial COVID response,” Lopez said. “This includes things like hand sanitizer, gowns, masks, face shields, respiratory supplies, and so forth.”
When UMass went into testing and treating for the coronavirus, the medical center had a very large amount of N-95 masks, ear loop masks and gowns, Lopez said.
“Our typical inventory value pre-COVID was somewhere around $1.7 million. Right now, we have $10.5 million in our inventory, so the healthcare system has made a tremendous investment on inventory regarding any pandemic or emergency or disaster that could come up,” Lopez said. “We never ran out of PPE when it came down through the whole thing. We always had N-95s. We had the ear loop masks. We had gowns.”
Massachusetts gets Pandemic EBT funds in September for schoolchildren learning remotely
Massachusetts families with schoolchildren learning remotely might be eligible for funding to help cover the costs of meals under an extension of benefits granted by the federal government.
The state received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue funds for September through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program, which offers money to families whose children receive free or reduced meals at school. That includes schools that offer free or reduced lunch for all students.
