MA Setting Up Coronavirus Command Center, Will Expand Testing

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Saturday morning he is setting up coronavirus command center that will direct the state's response to the fast-spreading pandemic.

The command center will be led by the state Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders.

The center will have "complete authority" regarding state resources to prevent the spread of and treat COVID-19. It will expand the state's testing testing capacity, allow the state to quickly respond to community needs and monitor the chain of health supplies.

The center will also coordinate across several branches of state government, including education and transportation, in order to help push back against virus.

Sudders announced new measures to expand and speed up testing, including clinicians no longer needing approval from the state lab to perform testing and requiring only one swab per test, not two.

Officials also said Saturday that 475 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Massachusetts. The Department of Public Health said it will begin posting test numbers online beginning Wednesday.

Also announced was that anyone on Mass Health will be allowed 90-day prescriptions.

Separately Saturday, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission said all three of the state's casinos will close for two weeks. Encore Boston Harbor said in a statement it will pay its full-time employees during the closure.