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well, The governor has declared a state of emergency, hoping to stop the spread before it floods into hospitals. As covert, 19 cases again have doubled. We urge all of our residents to do their part to stay informed. You keep the commonweal safe and healthy. Governor Baker declaring an emergency and leading by example, ordering tens of thousands of state workers to cancel all work related travel, foreign and domestic. Cancel or make virtual all conferences with outside parties. Internal meetings will go virtual, and workers must stay home if they're sick. Everyone has a role to play to stay healthy. And that's why I urge employers and other large organizations to follow our example. Where possible. An urgent plea as the state has now seen community spread in Berkshire County covert 19 cases statewide, doubling yet again. 51 new presumptive cases. 92 total confirmed or presumptive, 70 of which linked to the Bio Jin conference. The jump in case is sparking Mima Toe. Activate the State Emergency Management Agency will coordinate health, Human Service's and public safety. For now, the number of cases has not impacted state commerce or overloaded our hospitals, but that could change as more workers get sick. China and other countries that saw early outbreaks are making progress and pushing back against the disease. But it's only possible if everybody plays their part and it's only possible if step up mitigations happen now and right now only six people remain hospitalized. The governor is urging people over 60 years old and with underlying health issues to avoid large crowds, live in Boston. Sean Shy about WCVB.

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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has declared a state of emergency after the total number of COVID-19 cases in the state more than doubled Tuesday.The total number of cases in Massachusetts has risen to 92, with 51 new cases announced by the state's Department of Public Health on Tuesday. "Today, I'm declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts. This declaration will give our administration more flexibility to respond to this evolving outbreak," Baker said Tuesday. "Responding to this evolving health threat requires everyone to be vigilant and for everyone to be part of this effort."We are seeing an uptick in presumptive positive cases in part as a result of increased testing," Baker added. "More cases will be reported in the near future as more testing is done."The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has been activated and is bringing together health, human services, public safety and several other government agencies. This working group will follow the DPH's infectious disease task force that was established in January.Baker urged that older adults and people with underlying health issues to stay away from large crowds and events. Those who live in households with people vulnerable to COVID-19, such as elderly parents, should also consider avoiding crowds.The DPH will distribute guidance to long-term care facility operators on Tuesday, which will outline how facilities should protect elderly residents, who are at higher risk for COVID-19. The guidance will include banning visitors who show signs or symptoms of illness, as well as those who were in contact with a person diagnosed or being monitored for COVID-19 within 14 days of their visit, have traveled internationally within 14 days of their visit or reside in a community where community-based spread of COVID-19 is occurring.Massachusetts lawmakers plan to take up a spending bill next week creating a $15 million fund to respond to the rapid spread of the coronavirus in the state.State health officials said 70 of the total cases are associated with the Biogen employee conference held in Boston late last month. The cases are either employees or close contacts of employees. According to the DPH, 38 of the 52 new COVID-19 cases announced Tuesday are associated with the Biogen conference.The American Occupational Therapy Association made the decision to cancel its 2020 annual conference and expo, which was scheduled to be held in Boston from March 26 through March 29, Tuesday evening. The event is the world's largest convention of occupational therapists and would have brought approximately 10,000 people to Boston.Starting Wednesday, all state executive branch workforce travel will be discontinued until further notice and employees will be urged to avoid personal international travel."Conferences, seminars and other discretionary gatherings hosted by the executive branch agencies, involving external parties, are to be held virtually or canceled," Baker said. "There's no question that the efforts to mitigate the spread of this virus will be disruptive," he added. "We expect this disruption to continue for the foreseeable future and understand it will cause inconvenience for many. But our goal needs to be to significantly increase efforts to mitigate the spread of this disease now."Of the remaining 22 total cases in the state, four are travel-related and 18 remain under investigation.There remains just one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, which involves a University of Massachusetts, Boston, student.The 91 other cases have yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and have been labeled presumptive positive cases by the Massachusetts DPH.Middlesex County has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state with 41. Norfolk County has 22, while Suffolk County has 20. Berkshire County has seven cases, while Worcester and Essex counties have one case each.Of the 92 total COVID-19 cases, 62 of the patients were not hospitalized while six patients were. State health officials said 24 cases remain under investigation when it comes to hospitalization.On Monday, Boston officials canceled the 2020 Saint Patrick's Day Parade that was going to be held in the city's South Boston neighborhood. The event, which was scheduled for Sunday, was set to be Boston's 119th Saint Patrick's Day Parade.In a statement, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the decision was being made "out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing what is needed to keep the residents of Boston safe and healthy."The Boston Marathon is still scheduled for April 20, Patriots' Day. Walsh said Tuesday that there is still no decision on how the race or the surrounding festivities might change in light of the potentially deadly respiratory virus. Worcester officials made the decision to cancel the city's Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Tuesday in light of Baker's state of emergency declaration. Meanwhile, Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are among the academic institutions in the state that are telling their students to stay home and planning to conduct classes online.The spread of COVID-19 has also affected collegiate sporting events in Massachusetts, with the Ivy League canceling its men's and women's basketball tournaments. The four-team tournaments were scheduled to be played Friday through Sunday at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge.When it comes to K-12 schools in Massachusetts, the state's Department of Secondary and Elementary Education is providing local schools with relief from attendance and school year requirements. This will allow schools to have the flexibility to make decisions on temporary closures due to coronavirus concerns.The risk of COVID-19 to the general public in Massachusetts remains low at this time, according to state health officials.On Monday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts had risen to 41 with 13 new presumptive cases.The state's first COVID-19 case, the only one yet to be confirmed by the CDC, was announced Feb. 1.On March 2, a second COVID-19 case, the first presumptive positive case, was announced. The state's third case was announced by health officials three days later.The DPH then announced five new COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total number of cases up to eight.The total number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts jumped up to 13 Saturday, and rose to 28 the following day with the announcement of 15 new presumptive cases. More information from the DPH on COVID-19 can be found by clicking this link.PHNjcmlwdCBpZD0iaW5mb2dyYW1fMF85MTUyMTg3My03NmRhLTQ0ZmUtOTA0Ny1mMTllZWFlZGFjNmQiIHRpdGxlPSJDb3JvbmF2aXJ1cyBpbiBNYXNzYWNodXNldHRzIiBzcmM9Imh0dHBzOi8vZS5pbmZvZ3JhbS5jb20vanMvZGlzdC9lbWJlZC5qcz9yeXoiIHR5cGU9InRleHQvamF2YXNjcmlwdCI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+