MA
Massachusetts making nursing homes coronavirus care centers as hospitals overflow
By STEFAN GELLER | sgeller@bostonherald.com | Boston Herald
UPDATED: April 1, 2020 at 4:10 p.m.
Massachusetts officials are converting nursing homes into care centers for people recovering from the coronavirus, while moving the elderly residents into separate facilities, as part of a statewide effort to free up space at overflowing hospitals and expand patient treatment capacity.
“We understand that this is not an easy thing to ask residents, families and nursing facilities to do, but it is necessary for the health and safety of the current residents and to ensure COVID-19 patients are receiving care in appropriate medical settings,” Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders wrote in a letter Friday, announcing the state’s decision.
According to the letter, the first nursing home designated to undergo such a conversion is Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center in Worcester.
A spokeswoman for Beaumont said Wednesday that several residents tested positive for coronavirus and will remain at the facility, but said plans to begin taking patients from area hospitals on April 6 remain on track.
Rick Scott Demands Investigation of China–WHO Ties
By ZACHARY EVANS
March 31, 2020 5:48 PM
Senator Rick Scott (R., Fla.) called Tuesday for Congress to investigate the World Health Organization’s ties to China, accusing the organization of relaying Chinese propaganda during the Wuhan-coronavirus pandemic.
The WHO needs “to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic,” Scott said in a statement. “We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have . . . and the WHO never bothered to investigate further. Their inaction cost lives.”
Wow. What could possibly go wrong?