MA Coronavirus Cases Surging Toward A Peak: Baker

About half of the state's hospital beds are available as the coronavirus crisis continues surging toward a peak in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday in a wide-ranging update.

Baker said as of Tuesday about half of the state's 17,800 hospital beds were available. The state has been working to create more space as models suggest the peak of the patient surge will be later in April.

"We thought the curve would be somewhere between the 10th of April and the 20th of April," Baker said. "That continues to be generally speaking where we are."

Baker also said the state is now the national leader in testing per-capita, having completed 131,023 tests as of Wednesday. The latest numbers have 1,108 deaths and 29,918 confirmed cases. Both numbers are almost certainly lower than the reality of the situation.

Baker said the state's first-in-the-nation contact tracing program is underway, and asked residents to do their part when they are contacted. The program has 176 employees calling people who may have had close contact with COVID-19 patients.

"A couple of minutes of your time and cooperation is key to stopping this coronavirus and saving lives," Baker said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said the state has received some 400 ventilators from the federal government. Almost all of them have been deployed and are being used.

The state is still awaiting a million piece of personal protective equipment from FEMA. The shipment is on its way, Baker said.

"And we will continue to chase PPE where ever we can get it," he said.

Asked about the remainder of the school year, Baker said a decision would be coming "soon."

The Department of Unemployment Assistance is now paying 315,000 Massachusetts residents, Baker said. That's triple what the state was paying at the beginning of March.

Another 140,000 unemployment claims were made in Massachusetts last week, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.