BOSTON (AP) — The number of residents of a Massachusetts veterans home who have recently died is now 13, and six of those tested positive for the coronavirus, state authorities said Tuesday.
Test results for five other Holyoke Soldiers’ Home residents who have died are pending, and one tested negative and the cause of one death remains unknown, according to state health officials.
Ten other residents and seven employees have tested positive for the virus, and tests for 25 other residents are pending.
“As someone who has visited this amazing place on multiple occasions, and found it to be a source of joy and grace and comfort and kindness for the residents, their families and the staff that works there, this episode is a gut-wrenching loss that is nothing short of devastating,” Gov. Charlie Baker said, promising to get to the bottom of what happened.
The superintendent of the home has been placed on administrative leave and a new clinical command structure is in place. Medically trained National Guard personnel are testing all residents and staff.
Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse said Tuesday that the first deaths occurred last Wednesday, but officials at the home failed to disclose the deaths until Sunday. Morse said he’d called Bennett Walsh, the facility’s then-superintendent, directly after receiving an anonymous complaint.
“I was incredibly disappointed,” Morse said. “There was a clear lack of urgency and we were repeatedly told that these were folks with underlying health conditions. That’s certainly not an excuse for not isolating the folks that did test positive.”
New Hampshire is getting an additional $147 million from the massive coronavirus aid package signed into law by President Donald Trump, the state’s congressional delegation said Tuesday.
Funding will go to schools; public transit; health care workers; law enforcement; child care, heating assistance; elections help; and other areas.
The biggest chunk, nearly $82.5 million, includes money for elementary and secondary schools; higher education; and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund.
The aid follows the $1.25 billion marked for New Hampshire from the nearly $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package, providing funds for small businesses, health systems, unemployment insurance, individuals and families.
More than 300 people in New Hampshire have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. Three people have died.
Meanwhile, Vermont had 293 cases and another death from COVID-19 bringing the total number of deaths to 13, according to the Vermont Department of Health.
For most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
Workers at New Hampshire’s state-run liquor stores are getting a raise.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu on Tuesday issued an emergency order giving workers a 10% wage increase.
He said keeping liquor stores open as an essential business is necessary to help boost state revenue and prevent regional spread of the coronavirus because if they closed, residents would travel to other states.
Vermont is making temporary changes to its election laws amid the coronavirus outbreak, Secretary of State Jim Condos said.
Candidates will no longer have to gather petition signatures for the state’s primary elections in August and the general election in November, Condos said Monday in a written statement. But candidates will still have to file financial disclosure statements, he said.