MA Coronavirus Updates: Worst Still To Come As Surge Nears

MASSACHUSETTS — State health officials on Wednesday reported another 1,588 cases and 77 deaths from the coronavirus, new daily highs that increased totals to 16,790 cases and 433 deaths since the outbreak started.

Here's the latest news on the coronavirus in Massachusetts:

• The surge everyone has been talking about is right around the corner. Gov. Charlie Baker has been citing models that show an expected influx in COVID-19 patients between April 10 and April 20. On Wednesday, Baker said the state is still on an "upward slope of this pandemic." And while he indicated social distancing measures could help flatten the curve, there is a long way to go. "This is not a time to get complacent," he said. "In fact this means the opposite."
• The Department of Public Health for the first time reported the race and ethnicity of coronavirus patients. But Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders cautioned the data, which is current as of April 5, may be incomplete — and it was, as more than half of the cases had "missing" or "unknown" under race.
• The number of Massachusetts residents applying for first-time unemployment benefits last week was 139,582. While that was down from the previous week's total, analysts warned the actual number of people forced out of work by the new coronavirus may be much higher than those in Thursday's U.S. Department of Labor report.
• Many school districts would be plowing ahead of 2020-21 budget talks right now. But a "cloud of uncertainty" due to the economy hangs over every discussion. Even districts that had rosy outlooks may now have to make tough decisions.
• Officials are working to assist the homeless community in an effort to protect them from being added to the constantly growing list of coronavirus cases. In Worcester, City Manager Edward M. Augustus and other local leaders are studying how local shelters are coping with the pandemic and keeping people temporarily housed.
• The state on Tuesday issued guidelines for hospitals and health care workers in case patients' needs outpace supplies and manpower. The Crisis Standards of Care advises people with the best chances of surviving and of living the longest are prioritized if things like ICU beds — which Massachusetts is projected to have a startling shortfall of — and ventilators can't keep up with demand.
• Five cannabis dispensaries and a medical marijuana patient seeking to open a recreational dispensary sued Baker for his decision to order them closed as part of an emergency order aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. In his press briefing Wednesday, Baker said the stores had been listed as nonessential businesses because they attract customers from outside Massachusetts.
• An overwhelming majority of Massachusetts banks are accepting applications for the Paycheck Protection Program only from existing customers, raising fears among business owners that the $349 million federal program will run out of money before they can file an application.
• Attorney General Maura Healey has opened an investigation into the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke after 24 veteran residents died. Meanwhile, five residents at a senior living community in Newton have died after contracting COVID-19, which has attacked the most vulnerable.