COVID

Live updates: The latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Massachusetts

By Arianna MacNeill, The Associated Press, Nik DeCosta-Klipa, and Christopher Gavin

5 minutes to read

Moratorium on nonessential evictions for Boston public housing residents extended (Dec. 30)

The city’s moratorium on nonessential evictions for Boston Housing Authority (BHA) residents has been extended until March 1, officials announced Tuesday.

“It’s been a difficult year, with a dueling public health and economic crisis that has hit our communities hard,” Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement. “This moratorium continues to serve the best interests of both our residents who struggle to make ends meet and of our city as a whole, as we fight to maintain the health and safety of our city.”

The BHA first issued the temporary ban, initially intended to expire Thursday, in March. Under the moratorium, residents can only be evicted for matters related to criminal activity and for reasons “necessary to protect the health and safety of BHA residents, employees, and others,” according to officials.

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“A safe, stable home is the best protection our residents have in battling coronavirus, and it is critical that we take the steps we can to keep our residents safely housed through this pandemic,” BHA Administrator Kate Bennett said in a statement. “The vaccine is on its way, and there’s cause for optimism going into 2021, but now is not the time to take our foot off the gas. There were reasons we put this moratorium in place, and those reasons are still with us.”

BHA residents who are unable to pay their rents should notify their landlord or housing manager and develop a repayment plan.

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“BHA program participants facing a financial hardship must reach out to BHA to re-certify their income and reduce their monthly payments,” officials said. “Statewide financial assistance for rent is available through RAFT funding.”

MBTA is getting team-branded face coverings from the Patriots and Revolution to offer to riders (Dec. 30)

The New England Patriots and Revolution are teaming up to support the MBTA’s efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The MBTA announced Wednesday that the two Foxborough-based NFL and MLS franchises, along with Patriots Place, have donated 2,500 team-branded face coverings and 5,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to distribute to riders as part of the agency’s Ride Safer campaign. The navy-blue face coverings appear to have Patriots and Revolution logos on them.

The partnership comes as the MBTA has stepped up efforts to ensure universal adherence to statewide mask-wearing requirements, which have mandated face coverings for everyone over the age of 5 on public transit since May. Under an updated order amid the second coronavirus surge this fall, the MBTA announced that transit police will fine riders who refused to wear masks $300.

However, T officials hope such fines won’t be necessary. Customers seen not wearing some form of face covering will first get a reminder of the rules. Beginning in November, MBTA employees also began offering masks to riders who need them from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the weekdays at several busier stations:

  • Maverick
  • Orient Heights
  • Forest Hills
  • Park Street
  • Downtown Crossing
  • Quincy Center
  • Charles/MGH
  • Hynes Convention Center

The new donations from the Patriots, Revolution, and Patriots Place add to the MBTA’s existing stockpile of face coverings; in November, the agency announced that New Balance donated 100,000 face coverings to distribute to riders.

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Due to the steep decline in ridership amid the pandemic and the subsequent crash in revenue. MBTA officials approved wide-ranging cuts to its train, bus, and ferry service earlier this month.

“The health and safety of our riders and employees continue to be our top priorities during these challenging times,” Steve Poftak, the MBTA’s general manager, said in a statement. “The MBTA greatly appreciates this contribution from the Patriots, Revolution, and Patriot Place as we strive to provide safe, essential transit services to those who rely on buses and trains.”

Here’s how much Mass. is set to receive from the stimulus bill for testing and vaccinations (Dec. 29)

With the $900 billion stimulus bill approved on Sunday, Massachusetts is set to receive $452.1 million to help expand testing, and $88.9 million to help distribute the COVID-19 vaccine.GBH confirmed the amount of aid set to come to Massachusetts with the state’s Executive Office for Administration and Finance.The state will also receive $37.2 million as part of a Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant plus $33.6 million as part of a Mental Health Block Grant, according to the radio station.Those figures are part of more than $9 billion Massachusetts is slated to receive overall from the bill, GBH reported.

Massachusetts to vaccinate residents of hard-hit veterans homes (Dec. 29)

BOSTON (AP) — Residents of two Massachusetts veterans care centers that were hit hard by the pandemic are getting vaccinated against the coronavirus starting Tuesday, state officials say.

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Air Force veteran Robert Aucoin, 78, is scheduled to be the first resident of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home vaccinated, according to the state Executive Office of Health and Human Services.

Aucoin, who has lived at the state-run home since 2018, served from 1961 to 1965 and during his service worked as the control tower operator at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

World War II veteran Dominic Pitella is scheduled to be the first resident of the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home to be vaccinated, state officials said.

Pitella, a former cook with the 559th Air Service Group, served in the Pacific Theater during World War II in 1945. He has lived at the home since 2018.

The Holyoke home had one of the country’s deadliest outbreaks at a long-term care facility, with nearly 80 residents dying after contracting the virus and dozens of other residents and staffers sickened.

An investigation into the outbreak by a formal federal prosecutor hired by Gov. Charlie Baker found that management at the home made several “utterly baffling” decisions that helped the disease run rampant.

Two former top administrators have pleaded not guilty to criminal negligence charges connected to the deaths.

More than 30 residents of the Chelsea home died of the disease.

More than half the state’s cities and towns remain in the red zone (Dec. 28)

There are 188 communities that have the highest risk of coronavirus transmission, an increase of one since last week, according to state data released on Thursday.This means that more than half the state remains in the red zone, a milestone reached last week.The state also is, on average, in the red zone, the data shows. The state’s average daily case rate for the last two weeks is 63.2 per 100,000 residents. This is down just a bit compared to last week, when the state’s average daily incidence rate was 65.1 per 100,000 residents.All of the state’s individual community coronavirus data can be found here.

CVS and Walgreens to begin vaccinating workers and residents of long-term care facilities (Dec. 28)

The COVID-19 vaccine is headed to long-term care facilities with the help of CVS and Walgreens.WHDH reports that the pharmacies are headed to these facilities to vaccinate both their staff and patients. Over the next three months, Walgreens and CVS have a goal of vaccinating over 170,000 people in 2,000 facilities in Massachusetts.“We pharmacists are super excited to be a part of the effort to vaccinate the community,” Vicki Saengkheune, a CVS pharmacy manager, told the news station. “[With] the expertise and infrastructure that we have developed with the administration [of] flu clinics throughout the nation, CVS is well equipped to take this on.”

 

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