BOSTON (AP) — The number of new COVID-19 cases has ticked up in Massachusetts.
On Tuesday, the state reported 438 newly confirmed cases and 108 new probable cases, for a total of more than 540 confirmed and probable cases. That brings the total number of confirmed and probable cases to more than 119,000 in Massachusetts since the start of the pandemic.
The state also reported nine newly confirmed deaths linked to COVID-19 on Tuesday — bringing the number of confirmed and probable deaths to 8,657.
There were 354 other people hospitalized on Tuesday due to COVID-19, while 56 were in intensive care units.
The number of deaths shown and likely similar to COVID-19 in long-term care homes above 5512, or only about 64% of all deaths shown and likely in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.
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FORTY VISITORS
Rhode Island was removed from the list of low-risk states that allowed citizens to be exempt from Massachusetts quarantine requirements.
Health officials said Tuesday that the resolution to eliminate Rhode Island due to an increase in the positive verification rate of the state and instances of 100,000.
Thousands of travelers to Massachusetts have begun completing the bureaucracy required across the state to combat the spread of coronavirus, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday.
On Saturday, the state began requiring visitors to comply with a new executive order requiring them to quarantine for 14 days or face a $500 fine per day.
This citizen returns home after an out-of-state trip.
Travelers who would likely produce a negative RESULT of COVID-19 verification that were administered up to 72 hours prior to arrival in Massachusetts are exempt.
Those visiting from a lower-risk state including every New England state — except Rhode Island —and New York, New Jersey and Hawaii are exempted from completing the online form.
There are also exemptions for people passing through the state, people who commute across state lines for work, and for those traveling to Massachusetts for medical treatment or to comply with military orders.
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SOLDIERS HOME
Eleven people at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke have again tested positive for COVID-19, state health officials said Tuesday.
Four veteran citizens have been placed in solitary confinement and seven staff members have been invited to quarantine the following week, authorities said. The 11 had already tested positive and recovered clinically from COVID-19.
None have symptoms and tests may have a non-COVID explanation. Health officials said the space had implemented protocols for other clinically recovered people that can be positive even after their clinical recovery.
The veterans’ home, which was the site of one of the deadliest outbreaks of the virus in a nursing home in the nation, with 76 resident deaths, has suspended visits until Aug. 11 in response to the new cases.
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WARNINGS IN HOME CARE
The Massachusetts State Medicaid Program issued termination notices to 3 personal retirement homes for failing to meet the expectations of the coronavirus pandemic.
Hermitage Healthcare at Worcester, Town and Country Health Care Center in Lowell and Wareham Healthcare received warnings Monday from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Warnings are the first step in getting rid of MassHealth, which can force the installation to close.
Next Step Healthcare, the parent company of Hermitage Healthcare and Wareham Healthcare, told the Boston Globe that the state Department of Public Health had discovered the two services that meet infection control criteria for 3 out of 4 recent visits.
The company said it would appeal both decisions.
A user who responded to a phone call in Town and Country on Monday told the Sun of Lowell that the installation would comment.
Hermitage Healthcare has had 12 deaths from COVID-19, Town and Country has had 10 deaths and Wareham Healthcare has had no reported deaths.
The state said the facilities demonstrated poor adherence to basic infection control practices.
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SALEM HALLOWEEN
Salem is scaling back Halloween celebrations because of the coronavirus.
Each year thousands of revelers descend on Salem, which has embraced the moniker of “Witch City,” a reference to the infamous witch trials of the late 1600s. But the mayor’s office announced Tuesday that many city-run events are being canceled.
The Salem News reports events that have been called off include the Haunted Happenings grand parade, food truck festivals, the Great Salem Pumpkin Walk, and the Mayor’s Night Out.
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‘PROM’ PARTY
A Massachusetts town has canceled high school graduation after a “prom-like” house party sparked concerns of COVID-19 transmission among parents and students.
Cohasset Superintendent Patrick Sullivan and Cohasset High School Principal Brian Scott said in a letter to families this week that canceling graduation was the “most prudent course of action“ given the July 25 party happened so close to this Friday’s ceremony.
Town officials said last Friday there have so far been no reported cases of the virus linked to the party, but have urged all those who attended to get tested, since photos from the event show many were not wearing face masks or socially distancing.
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WORKERS’ DAY RESTAURANT
No new cases have been reported following an outbreak on Cape Cod as a result of assistance in Chatham through restaurant employees, city officials said Tuesday.
Robert Duncanson, Chatham’s director of fitness, said 33 of the other 34 people reviewed on an “emerging” check filed on July 27 tested negative for COVID-19. The result of a check is still pending, he said.
The July 12 holiday was linked to at least thirteen positive cases of viruses.
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FREE TRIAL SITE
Framingham is the latest Massachusetts community to get a free coronavirus testing site as part of the state’s Stop the Spread program.
Free verification sites are installed in communities that are above the state average in the total number of cases, the positive verification rate, and at the same time fewer people are reviewed.
Seventeen of those sites have already been created.
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Associated Press journalist Philip Marcelo contributed to the report.