4/3/2020 Press Conference on COVID-19 Updates

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On April 3rd, Governor Baker gave a press conference to provide a COVID-19 update on testing updates and the new COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative.

Here is the summary.

Testing Updates

  • As of yesterday, MA has completed over 56,000 tests total so far.

    • Yesterday alone, almost 5,000 tests were completed.

  • This Sunday, there will be a new drive-through testing site for first responders that will be open in Foxborough Gillette Stadium in the parking lot where they expect to test up to 200 first responders a day.

COVID-19 Community Tracing Collaborative

  • The partnership between the Command Center, Partners in Health, Department of Public Health, and the Health Connector. This collaborative is a robust and targeted approach, staffed by an epidemiology team and a virtual call center, that can help slow the spread of COVID-19.

  • What does ‘Tracing’ mean?

    • This is when public health officials gather information from the confirmed positive person about who else they could have infected - otherwise known as ‘close contacts’. Then, public health officials will attempt to contact their ‘close contacts’ and give information about who needs to quarantine or get tested themselves.

  • The program will have a Virtual Call Center.

    • Consisting of nearly 1,000 contact tracers. 

    • Staff will contact COVID-19 patients to learn about their recent activities and ensure they are taking the appropriate steps to get healthy and not spread the virus further.

  • Who is Partners in Health?

    • A global, medical nonprofit that is based in Boston. They have a proven track record of creating a successful health intervention that has made significant differences in different health crises around the world.

    • They will be hiring, deploying, and training the contact tracers.

  • The three levels the tracing collaborative will focus on:

    • Social Distancing

    • Quarantine

    • Isolation

  • The Community Tracing Collaborative will work to make sure people know their status and also have the resources to practice all three levels to support the fight against COVID-19, especially as we prepare for the emergency surge.