There were five new COVID-19 cases this week in the Downtown, North End, Beacon Hill, and Back Bay neighborhoods, according to the Boston Public Health Commission’s weekly report through July 23rd. The total number of cases for the downtown neighborhoods stands at 511, a rate of 91.7 per 10,000 residents. About 1.9% of all Emergency Department visits were for COVID-19-like-illness, a slight increase from 1.8% the prior week.
The City of Boston has 13,944 cases of COVID-19 with 134 new cases this week according to Boston’s COVID-19 tracking dashboard. There were six new deaths in the City with the total number standing at 726. Nearly 72% of coronavirus patients have recovered in Boston.
Boston Public Schools (BPS) recently revealed a rough draft of their reopening plan for the Fall 2020-21 semester. According to officials, in-person learning is highly unlikely to occur. BPS expects to release their final decision by the end of July on whether it will adopt a hybrid or completely virtual program for students.
Governor Charlie Baker announced a new travel order during his Friday afternoon press conference for Massachusetts. The executive order will become effective starting on August 1st for all those traveling to Massachusetts with a few exceptions. Those who do not comply with the state’s guidelines will face up to $500 per day of their offense.
“We’ve already seen an uptick in activity at Logan Airport,” stated Governor Baker, referencing the increase in travel as students begin to return to the Commonwealth.
Visitors and residents reentering Massachusetts are required to fill out a travel form upon their arrival. Failure to do so will result in a $500 fine.
“For months, the residents of the Commonwealth have been vigilant, adjusted their daily routines, and have had to adopt new habits and we cannot, and we must not, let up,” said Governor Baker. “Do not travel here if you have symptoms of COVID-19. And if you’re visiting us from another state, take a moment to learn about the rules.”
The travel order requires individuals arriving in Massachusetts to quarantine for fourteen days or provide a negative COVID-19 test taken in the last 72-hours before arrival. Those who are awaiting test results must remain quarantined until a negative result returns.
Individuals exempt from the new travel order are those traveling from the low-risk states of New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Hawaii.
Other exceptions are those crossing state lines regularly for work or school, people seeking or receiving medical care from a Massachusetts-based doctor, military personnel, and those providing critical infrastructure services.
Massachusetts currently has 107,897 total confirmed positive cases and 7,088 presumptive cases according to the most recent data. There were 2,106 new COVID-19 cases reported this week with 696 of those being probable cases. There have been 8,498 total deaths with 96 new deaths among confirmed and presumptive cases.
It was just a matter of time before the North End saw a spike in Corona Virus Cases. People from all over coming to dine all hours of the day and evening, no masks, no social distancing. We need to adhere to the guidelines otherwise we are going back to where we began.