Massachusetts reported 569 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday for a statewide total to date of 125,139 since the pandemic began.
An additional 26 deaths were announced by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, bringing the total number of deaths to 9,085. The number of lives lost to COVID-19 in the U.S. topped 200,000 on Saturday, a grim milestone that Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, predicted back in March.
There are 210 more deaths and 2,042 additional cases of the virus listed as probable in the daily COVID-19 report. There were more than 360 people reported hospitalized Saturday because of COVID-19, and more than 60 in intensive care units. The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive, on average, remains at 0.8%, according to the report.
Retired Boston Red Sox player David Ortiz says he's recovering after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Ortiz said Friday that he was asymptomatic, but that his brother who was also infected had to spend a week in the hospital and lost 25 pounds.
"This is no joke,'' Ortiz said while speaking during the NESN broadcast of the Red Sox game against the New York Yankees on Friday. "You don't realize how crazy this is until it hits home. And I learned so much about this COVID-19 thing while I was going through the process. It's an experience to be honest with you.''
The Red Sox have laid off 10% of their full-time employees as a result of the pandemic. The Boston Globe reported Thursday that about 40 workers on the business side were let go. Earlier this month, the team told nine baseball operations employees in player development, amateur scouting and pro scouting that their contracts would not be renewed.
Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy told the Globe that the staff reductions were due to what he called "the profound impact of this ongoing pandemic."
He said the team has set up assistance measures including severance pay, health care, and outplacement support to help those laid off find new jobs.
