I write to you this evening with relevant COVID-19 updates and resources.
As of today, there are 460 Cambridge residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 9 residents who have passed away. You can learn more here:https://bit.ly/2J2BnQj. There are 29,918 cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts including 6,681 in Middlesex County. 132,023 patients in the state have been tested and 1,108 patients have passed away. Learn more here:https://bit.ly/3ck7gjH. Today, the state started releasing data on COVID-19 case counts by city and town. You can find this data here:https://bit.ly/2z4PNh4.
Today, I hosted a town hall on emergency management and communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and was joined by crisis management experts including State Representative Bill Driscoll, Dan Cence, CEO of Solomon McCown & Cence and infectious disease and public health experts Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health William Hanage and Dr. Lou Ann Bruno-Murtha, the Chief Infectious Disease physician at Cambridge Health Alliance. Thank you to all who joined and asked questions. If you missed the town hall, you can watch a recording of it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCap-BygKbk.
Cambridge Updates
The City's website now includes resources to help people with disabilities during COVID-19 produced by the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities. You can find these resources here:https://bit.ly/2RWDha7.
Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager DePasquale will be answering residents' questions about the City's response to COVID-19 in a 30 minute show next week. If you have questions for them, you can fill out this form:https://bit.ly/2XzvimS.
Multilingual resources are always available on the City of Cambridge's website. This includes translated information on city resources and about COVID-19. You can find them here:https://bit.ly/2wKXAzA.
State Action Updates
The state is now publishing a daily summary of Personal Protective Equipment distribution. You can learn more and see today's summary here:https://bit.ly/2wEQUTE.
Today, the Governor's administration announced new support for long term care facilities. This includes $130 million in new funding, expanded mobile testing, continued distribution of personal protective equipment, staffing resources, and crisis management support. You can learn more about these supports here:https://bit.ly/3a7KXw9.
Today, Attorney General Maura Healey launched a website for frontline workers with information available on personal protective equipment, priority COVID-19 testing, and free or discounted meal and housing options. There is also a "Hero Wall" where messages of thanks, stories, and videos can be shared. You can visit the website here: https://www.frontlinema.org/.
Unemployment Insurance Updates:
The Department of Unemployment Assistance has created an FAQ page on expanded unemployment benefits under the federal CARES Act and qualifications for these benefits. You can find it here:https://bit.ly/3cs83iV.
Where to donate:
If you are able to give to others during this time, I encourage you to look to the following places that are working to help those most affected by COVID-19:
