State gets new gear ahead of surge
More tests being done than predicted
A shipment of 100 ventilators — a fraction of the state’s request for 1,000 — were delivered to Massachusetts from the federal stockpile Saturday, Gov. Charlie Charlie Baker said Sunday afternoon as the state prepares for the anticipated surge in coronavirus cases later this week.
Baker announced the delivery at Gillette Stadium following a tour of a drive-thru coronavirus testing site for first responders there.
“We are planning for a variety of scenarios,” Baker said. “Now obviously we’d love to have every single piece of gear we need, as we come into it — but we’re going to make adjustments as we go.”
The devices were being distributed Sunday and Monday, Baker said.
Ventilators are in short supply across the nation as need increases for the devices that keep people alive during the most critical phase of COVID-19.
The Gillette testing site and others like it now opening are an important resource to make sure first responders can be diagnosed and treated, Baker said.
“While the effects of this public health emergency are obviously keenly felt by all of us, some of the greatest challenges associated with meeting it head-on are being met by our men and women in public safety,” he said. “These professionals are working in high-risk environments to protect our communities, and we felt it was important to continue to expand our capacity to support them.”
Baker also announced the state tested 5,800 people for the coronavirus on Saturday, surpassing initial goals of 3,500 a day. The total number of people tested in Massachusetts through Saturday is 68,800.
The increased testing capacity is in-line with the state’s initiative announced Friday to institute COVID-19 tracing to improve efforts to isolate the virus and people carrying it to reduce transmission. The state is bringing online 1,000 people to assist with the effort.
The number of people who have died due to COVID-19 is 231, according to figures reported Sunday. The state now has 12,500 confirmed cases of the virus, up from 10,402 on Friday. At least 1,145 patients have been hospitalized.