The day Gov. Charlie Baker releases the state’s plan to reopen, Massachusetts health officials announce 65 new coronavirus deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 5,862.
Officials also confirmed another 1,042 positive cases of the virus, for a total of 87,052 across the state. That’s based on 8,373 new tests reported on Monday. The statistics showed a downward trend in several key metrics reported by the state including COVID-19-related deaths, positive tests, the three-day average number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital and the number of hospitals using surge capacity.
Health officials have also tweaked their reporting method to better track key metrics in the fight against the virus, and now plan to indicate in their daily reports which data points are trending favorably, which will determine the pace of the reopening plan.
“Moving into the next phase of the pandemic, the re-opening phase, this format provides a more standardized way to compare both daily counts of tests and cases,” Ann Scales, a Department of Public Health spokesperson, said in an email.
The latest figures come as Baker unveiled his administration’s plan to reopen parts of the Massachusetts economy, beginning with the restart of some operations and activities at hospitals, in construction and manufacturing, as well as places of worship, on Monday.
In the state’s first of four phases of reopening, retailers will be permitted to resume work for curbside pickup; hair salons can take appointments; and some offices can open at limited capacity, according to the plan. Hospitals can resume certain “high-priority services” for high-risk patients, and some manufacturing and construction businesses can restart, provided they put in place workplace safety standards.
Phase 1 will be rolled out in three parts, with those activities set to begin Monday, more resuming on May 25 and others on June 1. Officials didn’t say when Phase 2 would begin but noted that there would be at least three weeks between phases.
Beaches will reopen as well for Memorial Day, Monday, May 25.
But restaurants will have to wait for Phase 2 to reopen, which took mean sometime in June, according to the plan.
Baker urged residents to continue to abide by social distancing measures whenever possible, adjusting the state’s stay-at-home advisory to a more measured “safer at home” advisory. The new guidances encourage people to avoid unnecessary travel, except for health care, permitted work, shopping and outdoor activities.
The advisory also suggests residents do not participate in close contact activities and use remote modes of communication like phone or video instead of visiting friends or family who are at high risk.
“If we don’t keep up the fight and don’t do the things that we all know we have to do and know we can do, we run the risk of creating a second spike for all,” Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday morning.
Baker’s plan notes that if the public health data indicate higher rates of viral transmission during the reopening, officials may again close sectors of the economy, or return to prior phases of the reopening.
Coronavirus in Mass.: Cases, maps, charts and resources
Here are the cases listed by county:
Barnstable County: 1,155
Berkshire County: 497
Bristol County: 5,996
Dukes County: 26
Essex County: 12,587
Franklin County: 308
Hampden County: 5,264
Hampshire County: 774
Middlesex County: 19,345
Nantucket County: 12
Norfolk County: 7,524
Plymouth County: 7,139
Suffolk County: 16,671
Worcester County: 9,442
Unknown location: 312
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