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Baker ramps up virus-fighting efforts at nursing homes

Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO
| April 13, 2020 12:27 PM

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that Massachusetts officials are pressing forward on efforts to help nursing homes and assisted living locations prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which can be especially deadly for older people.

Of about 1,000 senior living locations in Massachusetts, he said, 140 have had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19. The state continues to conduct testing at sites across the state to curb the spread of the disease, the governor said.

The state is also ramping up its support for Chelsea which he said has been hit hard by the coronavirus, Baker said.

Massachusetts has increased testing fourfold in the Chelsea area and is helping provide meals to the community while also creating isolation areas at a hotel for those who test positive and can’t stay with their families.

Baker said it is too early to talk about easing the state of emergency as Massachusetts experiences a surge in cases. Much more testing needs to be done to help officials better understand the scope of infection and aid in the state’s contact tracing program, he said.

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REWARD FROM CELEBS

Actor John Krasinski and retired Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz have given a major boost to some tireless Boston health care workers on the front lines in the fight against the new coronavirus.

The pair announced during Krasinski’s “Some Good News” YouTube show Sunday that workers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston would be getting free Red Sox tickets.

“I want to tell you from the bottom of my heart how much I love and respect you for what you’re doing,” Ortiz said via video, before announcing that the team would donate four tickets to Beth Israel and its employees “for life.”

The donation was in response to a tweet from the hospital this month showing a Beth Israel employee in scrubs and a mask holding a sign expressing love for the Red Sox.

Also on the show, some hospital employees were taken to Fenway Park in “the most sanitized Duck Boat in America” and thanked via video by Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Gov. Charlie Baker and first lady Lauren Baker, and members of the team.

The hospital workers then threw out a ceremonial first pitch for the yet-to-start 2020 season.

“You are so our heroes, and the most wonderful, lovable people,” said Krasinski, who starred in “The Office” and who grew up in the Boston suburb of Newton.

Krasinski also announced that AT&T has agreed to pay for three months of free wireless service for nurses and physicians battling COVID-19 nationwide on the FirstNet network built exclusively for first responders.

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