Health

Reopening the state will depend on public health data

LOWELL, Mass. — Reopening the state's economy will be dependent on public health data.

25 investigates has been looking into the number of COVID-19 cases at the state’s long-term care facilities and requesting more transparency from the department of public health.

Yesterday, they began supplying more data. The new information shows there are 20,607 residents and workers at long-term care facilities who have contracted the coronavirus. And in the state, 4,123 deaths have been reported in long-term care facilities.

Families have been complaining the state’s dashboard was very vague and now the state has announced a few changes to how the data will be reported on a daily and even weekly basis.

This data includes:

  • Results of a major initiative aimed at increasing COVID-19 testing in nursing homes, a critical component of the Commonwealth’s Nursing Home Accountability and Supports package announced on April 27, 2020. Between April 8 and May 25, over 97% of nursing homes tested at least 90% of all residents and staff.
  • Self-reported nursing home deaths by facility
  • City and Town COVID-19 tests and test rate and percent positive
  • COVID-19 testing results of state-operated health and human services facilities and congregate care programs across the Commonwealth

Boston 25 asked the governor why the state had not been reporting exact numbers of cases at nursing homes up until now. He did not directly answer the question just saying they have been working to make what he called baseline data more precise and more readily available.

"We have made adjustments all along not just in data but in our approach and supporting the industry," Gov. Charlie Baker said. "We were one of the first states in the nation to start testing residents."

“Massachusetts produces one of the most comprehensive public data reports in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said COVID-19 Command Center Director and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders. “Today we continue our commitment to improved data and transparency by releasing new information that will add to the public’s understanding of this public health crisis.”

New Schedule & Format For COVID-19 Public Health Reporting

The COVID-19 Command Center reformatted the various data streams and produce both daily and weekly reports found here, including:

  • A Daily Dashboard: Continued high-level, state and county metrics on cases, testing, hospitalizations and deaths.
  • A Weekly Public Health Report: Including enhanced, more granular information that is updated on a weekly, or biweekly basis, including town-by-town case and testing information, continued reporting on cases, and deaths in Long Term Care Facilities, along with biweekly updates on nursing facility audit results, and PPE distribution.
  • A State Facility COVID-19 Report: The Executive Office of Health and Human Services posted for the first time a dashboard containing COVID-19 testing results of state-operated facilities and congregate care programs across the Commonwealth. This data is current as of May 27 and will be updated weekly on Wednesdays.

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RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

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