'Surge Is Behind Us,' Baker Says As Field Hospitals Phase Out

Proclaiming "the surge is behind us," Gov. Charlie Baker announced the state is beginning to wind down field hospitals as the health care system continues to put distance between itself and the flood of COVID-19 patients in late April.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday afternoon that Boston Hope at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is "no longer necessary," and the 1,000-bed facility will remain open as it discharges patients but will not accept new ones. The field hospital, which treated about 700 COVID-19 patients, will remain at the BCEC through the summer in case the state needs it.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh later in the afternoon thanked workers and called Boston Hope the most significant thing to ever happen at the convention center. He said there are currently 36 patients at Boston Hope.

"This step is possible because we are moving in the right direction and it’s all the more reason why all of us have to keep doing the right things," Walsh said on Twitter.

Field hospitals in Cape Cod, Lowell and Worcester have also been closed. They were among several the state set up ahead of the surge to handle a potential overflow of COVID-19 patients. While the health care system did get strained, it did not get overwhelmed.

Baker's team also discussed $56 million for programs that will address food insecurity across the state. Of that, $36 million will fund a food insecurity infrastructure program that will provide grants for businesses that will help people handle food disruptions. The remaining money will go to getting meals directly to families who have been financially impacted by the coronavirus crisis, providing relief to food banks and expanding SNAP benefits.

Baker also said the state expects to submit its testing strategy to the federal government by the end of this week. The strategy, which Baker hopes will result in 70,000 tests a day by the end of the year, will be made public after its submitted. Massachusetts currently has the capacity to test about 30,000 a year.

The state's contact tracing has reached out to more than 30,000 people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, getting in touch with about 20,000 — and about half of their close contacts.

Monday marked the fourth day in a row the four major public health indicators the state watches all trended in the right direction. Despite the progress, there were 596 newly confirmed cases and 44 more deaths, bringing the overall totals to 93,271 cases and 6,416 fatalities.

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