Massachusetts public health commissioner out on monthlong medical leave
"It has nothing to do with COVID."
Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel will be out from work for about a month on medical leave, officials announced Thursday.
Bharel has been one of the leaders of the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and contracted the virus during the early weeks of the outbreak. However, the Department of Public Health said Thursday morning that her temporary medical leave, effective immediately, is unrelated to COVID-19.
“She is going on leave to deal with a medical condition,” Gov. Charlie Baker said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. “It has nothing to do with COVID.”
Officials did not specify the nature of Bharel’s medical condition. She is expected to return to work in early October.
“All of us wish Commissioner Bharel a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming her back to the Department,” Marylou Sudders, the state’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement.
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In the meantime, Sudders is appointing DPH General Counsel Margret Cooke to be the department’s acting commissioner. Cooke, a former member of Attorney General Maura Healey’s office, has been the department’s general counsel since 2015. Sudders said she has “every confidence” in Cooke’s “ability to provide the executive leadership for the Department during this time.”
“I appreciate the leadership of Margret Cooke and all of the DPH team to continue to assist the state in responding to the pandemic as well as managing our public health programs on behalf of the residents of the Commonwealth,” Bharel said in her own statement.
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