MA Asked Feds For 1,400 Ventilators, But None Have Arrived: Baker

BOSTON — As many as 172,000 people in Massachusetts may contract the new coronavirus over the course of the outbreak, state officials announced Thursday, adding the state is still not receiving badly needed medical equipment from the federal government.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday that a new model shows between 47,000 and 172,000 residents could get COVID-19 — and if the state's current fatality rate of about 1.5 percent holds, between 705 and 2,580 people could die.

The model is showing such a wide range of cases — a gap of 125,000 — because no one knows how long the outbreak will last, and the state is adjusting its testing strategy, Baker said.

"It's hard to tell where the end is," he said. "I think of it as weeks and months, and it'll get narrower the further into it we get."

Alarmingly, state officials said they asked for 1,400 ventilators from the federal government, but none have arrived. On Friday, Baker grew frustrated with federal officials after the state received only 17 percent of the medical supplies officials had asked for.

"We have repeatedly requested ventilators from the federal government and increased our ask today," Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said. "We have not received any ventilators."

There's also a new estimate on when a surge of COVID-19 cases might hit the state. The new estimate is between April 10 and 20, about three days later than first predicted. Models continue to shift as new data comes in from the United States and other countries, the governor said.

Baker shed some light on other sites in the state that will be used as field hospitals for COVID-19 patients, like the one set up at Worcester's DCU Center on Wednesday. Joint Base Cape Cod, the Mass Mutual building and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center were all named. An additional 1,000 beds will open up at nursing homes as "step-down" facilities, where patients recovering from COVID-19 will go to make room in hospitals.

Related: State's Bed Capacity Not Enough To Handle Virus Peak: Data Center

The delivery of $2 million worth of N95 masks by the New England Patriots on Thursday was also talked about. Sudders said that the equipment will be placed into inventory quickly and then delivered to medical facilities around the state. The donation complements about 700 deliveries of personal protective equipment (PPE) made by state officials so far during the course of the outbreak.

The state is planning on releasing information on where the supplies are being sent. Sudders also said the state has ordered a machine from Battelle that decontaminates medical equipment, allow items to be reused.

Sudders provided new figures on COVID-19 deaths at the state's two soldiers homes in Chelsea and Holyoke. As of Thursday morning, two Chelsea home residents had died, nine residents were positive, and two workers tested positive. Eight Holyoke residents have died, 23 were positive and seven staff members were positive.

"COVID-19 is a highly contagious virus that has a much more severe impact on older adults," Sudders said. "The majority of residents at the home and the number of residents and deaths will unfortunately continue to increase."

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