Marylou Sudders

Massachusetts is distributing another 2 million COVID-19 free testing kits this week. State health officials said Monday the tests will be sent to the 264 municipalities across the state that requested them, and officials in those cities and towns will then determine how to distribute them among residents. The tests are among the nearly 30 million rapid antigen tests secured...

Ninety-seven percent of vaccinated people in Massachusetts who became sick with COVID-19 in breakthrough cases did not become severely ill, according to a new review by state health officials. Furthermore, deaths of vaccinated people were rare in Massachusetts breakthrough cases, especially among young people, officials from the Department of Public Health said Monday. The state has seen no one under…

No one from Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration will participate in Thursday morning’s oversight hearing about the state’s response to the latest COVID-19 surge, despite invitations for top state health and emergency management officials to testify as a growing number of lawmakers and public health experts are pressuring the governor to do more to combat the virus’s spread. The...

State officials are eyeing ways to add COVID-19 testing capacity in Massachusetts and could make an announcement as to those efforts in the next few days. That’s one of the messages Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders delivered to more than 100 local officials Friday on a call the Massachusetts Municipal Association coordinated with the Baker administration. During a…

Any Massachusetts hospitals facing limited capacity will soon be required to reduce nonessential procedures.

Starting next week, any Massachusetts hospital or hospital system with limited capacity will have to reduce previously scheduled procedures deemed non-essential and non-urgent, the Baker administration announced Tuesday. The guidance, which goes into effect Monday, is meant to preserve hospital capacity amid staffing shortages amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “The current strain on hospital capacity is due to longer than…

Massachusetts changed which communities it considered at high risk of coronavirus transmission, which dropped the number from 121 to 16 on Friday. Officials said the change allows more schools to hold in-person classes.

CORRECTION (Nov. 6, 2020, 5:15 p.m.): An earlier version of this story gave the incorrect number of communities in the red in Friday’s report. There are 16. The data that goes into Massachusetts’ town-by-town coronavirus risk map was Friday. The new data accounts for population size, putting just 16 Massachusetts communities in the red category that signifies high risk for…

Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker addresses 252 new COVID-19 cases among schools, outlines the new coronavirus rules put into effect on Friday in an effort to reduce statewide infection numbers.

Massachusetts has enacted new restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus.

All Massachusetts communities in the gray, green and yellow COVID risk categories are expected to have students learning in-person, and even those in the highest-risk red category should consider a hybrid model instead of going fully remote, state officials said Friday. They made the announcement, which was greeted with skepticism by the state’s top teacher’s union official, as they...

A series of tougher coronavirus restrictions are now in effect, including a statewide COVID-19 curfew at 10 p.m., as Massachusetts officials try to get control over a spike in cases.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced more help for health care providers in the form of $800 million to support hospitals, nursing homes and primary care doctors.

Gov. Baker provides an update on COVID-19.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday announced that the state plans to invest $800 million into local hospitals, nursing homes and other health care providers to help in the fight against the coronavirus. He said the money comes from a combination of cuts to other areas of the state budget. He said the funding comes in addition to the $290…

State health officials also announced 29 new deaths, bringing statewide total to 260.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday declared a public health emergency in the state “due to severe lung disease associated with the use of e-cigarettes and marijuana-infused products.” He ordered a four-month ban on selling vaping-related products, both in person and online, which the state Public Health Council quickly approved. Baker wants to better study the growing alternative to smoking...

Gov. Charlie Baker brushed aside on Wednesday a proposal for Massachusetts to allow supervised injection sites for drug users. The Republican told reporters the proposal is illegal under federal law and he wants to focus on legal actions the state is taking to curb overdose deaths. Baker pointed to comments U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has made warning that regardless of...

A legislative commission is recommending state lawmakers approve the creation of one or more supervised injection sites for drug users in Massachusetts. Commission members said Tuesday that the state should allow the sites on a test basis to see if they can help reduce the harm associated with injecting illegal drugs, including the risk of overdosing alone.

Massachusetts health officials say the life expectancy of Bay State residents has risen to 80 years and 8 months. The increase in longevity breaks with the national trend, showing a decline in how long people are expected to live, according to officials.