Gov. Baker warns surge is within weeks as Mass. reports 96 new COVID-19 deaths

April 10, 2020 5:49 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE)- Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said the state should see a surge of COVID-19 cases between now and April 20 at an afternoon press conference Friday.

Baker said that could mean nearly 2,500 new confirmed cases per day.

To meet the surge, Baker and his administration’s COVID-19 Response Command Center have boosted capacity in Intensive Care Units at hospitals and established field hospitals throughout the state.

A statement from the governor put existing ICU and acute care beds in the state at 11,000. Surge planning and field hospitals would add another 3,500 to that total.

Baker also reiterated the importance of wearing masks in public to enhance measures taken by social distancing.

The state’s Department of Public Health released new data, with 96 new fatalities putting the total to date at 599.

The state added 2,033 new cases of COVID-19 from yesterday, bringing its cumulative total to 20,974.

While the DPH has begun releasing data related to race and coronavirus infections, its own figures state that for half of fatalities, race or ethnicity was unknown.

According to the department’s statistics, since it began keeping track of race, Hispanics have made up four percent of fatalities, while African-Americans have made up three percent of fatalities in the state.