Massachusetts Department of Public Health

There have now been 13 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Massachusetts since it was first detected on May 18.

The World Health Organization could decide as soon as Friday whether or not to declare monkeypox a global health emergency. A public health emergency of international concern is the organization’s highest alert. This decision will come after intense scrutiny over how they first handled the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 If monkeypox is declared a global health emergency, that could escalate…

The system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has withdrawn its controversial plan to build outpatient care centers in Woburn and Westborough and to expand a facility in Westwood after learning Department of Public Health staff would not recommend the projects’ approval.

Mass General Brigham officials said Friday the hospital system has withdrawn its controversial proposal to build outpatient care centers in Woburn and Westborough and to expand an existing facility in Westwood after learning Department of Public Health staff would not recommend approval of the projects. The DPH did, however, recommend that the Public Health Council, with conditions, partially approve a…

When state public health officials publish Monday’s report about the latest COVID-19 impacts on Massachusetts, the cumulative death toll through two years of the pandemic will suddenly stand about 15% lower. The Baker administration will start using a new public health surveillance definition next week, narrowing the window of time between a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and death required for the…

The new guidance loosens recommendations for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is updating its face mask guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Margret Cooke, who has been acting commissioner of the state Department of Public Health for seven months, has been appointed to the role on a permanent basis, officials said Monday. Cooke was named acting commissioner in May when Dr. Monica Bharel resigned. She joined the agency as general counsel in 2015, before being promoted to deputy commissioner in 2020. Her…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced earlier this week that the Department of Public Health had issued new guidance on when residents should get tested for COVID-19. He said people should get tested if they are symptomatic, or if they have been a confirmed close contact of someone diagnosed with COVID-19 and who is in quarantine. The new recommendations for testing come...

Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains when people should get tested for COVID-19.

Hospitals will now differentiate between patients that are hospitalized due to COVID-19 and those who came with another ailment but tested positive for the virus.

Starting Monday, Massachusetts hospitals will differentiate between patients they admit primarily for COVID-19 and those admitted to be treated for something else who end up testing positive.

Beginning next week, Massachusetts hospitals will start to differentiate between patients they admit primarily for COVID-19 and those admitted to be treated for something else who end up testing positive for COVID-19. COVID-19 hospitalizations have surged over the last month as the omicron variant has become dominant and the patient count (2,426 patients hospitalized as of Tuesday) is now on…

Massachusetts announced its first case Saturday afternoon, with Connecticut making its announcement later Saturday night. Both cases were in fully vaccinated people and involved travel out of state.

The person is a woman in her 20s from Middlesex County who had traveled out of Massachusetts. She is fully vaccinated, had a mild case of COVID-19 and didn’t need to be hospitalized, officials said.

The person is a woman in her 20s from Middlesex County who had traveled out of Massachusetts. She is fully vaccinated, had a mild case of COVID-19 and didn’t need to be hospitalized, officials said.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued fish consumption advisories for five Cape Cod waterbodies on Tuesday after detecting high levels of chemicals. The advisories, which differ for each pond based on the chemicals’ levels, provide guidance to people who catch and consume freshwater game fish caught in those areas, according to a DPH statement. They only apply to native…

The risk level has been raised in 38 communities.

Health authorities in the state reported on Saturday that a group of cities in towns located south of Boston have higher positivity rates for coronavirus than the state average. Massachusetts, like the country, is dealing with a resurgence of cases of coronavirus. The state’s 14-day positivity rate was about 2.7%, but numerous towns in Bristol and Plymouth counties and on…

Provincetown, Massachusetts, has seen a “handful” of new coronavirus cases in the past few days, Town Manager Alex Morse said on Facebook Monday.