Latest News:
- Boston Public Schools is suspending all in-person learning as citywide coronavirus rate climbs (boston.com)
- COVID-19 test results get faster, but still too slow to help slow disease spread (WBUR)
- What symptoms should send a student home? Here’s what the state and a school nurse say (boston.com)
- With eviction ban set to expire, Baker unveils $171M plan aimed at helping tenants, landlords (boston.com)
- No state coronavirus ‘mandates’ for Halloween in Massachusetts (boston.com)
- For lower-risk communities only, Mass. loosens some COVID restrictions around gatherings, recreation (WBUR)
- Gov. Baker allows ‘lower-risk’ communities to move forward in reopening plan (boston.com)
- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. households struck by COVID-19 face financial trouble (WBUR)
- Gov. Baker urges school officials not to rush decision to switch to remote learning (boston.com)
- CDC publishes — then withdraws — guidance on aerosol spread of Coronavirus (WBUR)
- Worries, excitement as Boston’s youngest students return to school (WBUR)
- The positive test rate for COVID-19 has stayed low in Mass. for weeks. An infectious disease expert explains the significance (boston.com)
- Amid COVID-19 pandemic, school nurses are on the front lines of reopening schools safely (WBUR)
- Majority of children who die from COVID-19 are children of color (WBUR)
- How COVID-19 has exacerbated the opioid epidemic and its impacts on Boston neighborhoods (boston.com)
- Social distancing and mask wearing isn’t limiting just COVID-19 spread, Baker says (boston.com)
- Why schools are struggling to feed students (WBUR)
- CDC issues sweeping temporary halt on evictions nationwide amid pandemic (WBUR)
- Unemployment squeezing Mass. cities, communities of color (WBUR)
- Struggling And Sick: COVID-19 compounds economic distress for vulnerable Mass. residents (WBUR)
- COVID-19 Infections and deaths higher among those with intellectual disabilities (WBUR)
- Residential and Congregate Care Programs 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance (EOHHS)
- How to care for the elderly without putting them at risk of coronavirus (STAT)
- How the coronavirus can and cannot spread (boston.com)
PPE Sources:
Reopening Guidance from EOHHS: Purchasing Hygienic or Protective Supplies for the Workplace (Mass.gov)
Alliance Test Equipment, Inc. Webster, Mass. Tel: 508.671.9970 www.alliancetesteq.com
Pharmaceutics, Needham, Mass. Tel: 781-449-9200 www.pharmaceuticsusa.com
Pure Green 24, New York, NY. Tel: 800.306.9122 www.puregreen24.com
Best practices and contributed protocols:
- AG guidance on rights of people with disabilities to accommodations in the context of COVID-19 (Mass. AGO)
- Nonprofits and Coronavirus, COVID-19 (National Council of Nonprofits)
- Lessening the risk of coronavirus at nonprofits (NonProfit Times)
- COVID-19 Information by and for people with disabilities
- Información de COVID-19 Por y Para Personas con Discapacidades (Spanish language)
Emergency contingency planning, insurance and risk mitigation resources for nonprofits:
(Source: Metrowest Health Foundation)
(Source: USI Insurance)
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Preparedness and Risk Mitigation: A Resource Guide for Managers and Employees
- Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Frequently Asked Questions About Risk, Supply Chain Issues and Insurance
(Source: Sun Life)
(Source: Relias)
FAQs: What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Symptoms of this infection include:
- fever
- cough and shortness of breath, and
- in severe cases, pneumonia (fluid in the lungs).
Is there a vaccine? How do I prevent this virus from spreading?
Many of the things you do to help prevent colds and the flu can help protect you against other respiratory viruses:
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes.
- Stay home if you are sick.
Download a printable fact sheet – this helpful guide can be posted in workplaces and public spaces: Stop the Spread of Germs: Respiratory Diseases like Flu and COVID-19.
There are currently no vaccines available to protect against this novel coronavirus infection. At this time there is no specific treatment for this novel coronavirus. Antiviral medications used to treat other types of viruses are being used but their efficacy is not known at this time.
What do I tell my employees and the people we serve?
CDC-issued guidance for employers to help prevent workplace exposures to illnesses and planning considerations if there are more widespread, community outbreaks of COVID-19: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to COVID-19. A downloadable and printable poster for the workplace can be found here.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Public Health
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