(Boston Orange編譯)麻州的新冠病毒(Covid-19)疫情在2021年1月8日這天，新增7,635人確診，累計400,823人。新增74人死亡，累計12,708人。
目前有2311人住院，440人住在重症病房(ICU)，280人嚴重到要插管。住院者的平均年齡為73歲。共有大約87,348人正在治療新冠病毒中。
自從感恩節過後，新冠病毒確診人數就幾乎呈直線上升趨勢，單日確診人數還打破紀錄的超過7000人。
約108,569人新做檢測，累計檢測人次已達到1150萬。約5,004人新作了抗體檢測，累計達到392,437。
7天的平均確診率，現在是7.49%。麻州的這一記錄最低時是0.8%。
美國在星期四(1月7日)這天，出現新冠病毒的單日死亡人數超過4000，住院人數13萬2000的驚人數字。估計到這個月底，美國因為染患新冠病毒而死亡的人數將會超過40萬。
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Treasury Department, announced today that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, initially only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans on Monday, January 11, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter. Updated PPP guidance outlining Program changes to enhance its effectiveness and accessibility was released on January 6 in accordance with the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Non-Profits, and Venues Act.
This round of the PPP continues to prioritize millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $284 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses through March 31, 2021, and by allowing certain existing PPP borrowers to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan.
“The historically successful Paycheck Protection Program served as an economic lifeline to millions of small businesses and their employees when they needed it most,” said Administrator Jovita Carranza. “Today’s guidance builds on the success of the program and adapts to the changing needs of small business owners by providing targeted relief and a simpler forgiveness process to ensure their path to recovery.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program has successfully provided 5.2 million loans worth $525 billion to America’s small businesses, supporting more than 51 million jobs,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This updated guidance enhances the PPP’s targeted relief to small businesses most impacted by COVID-19. We are committed to implementing this round of PPP quickly to continue supporting American small businesses and their workers.”
Key PPP updates include:
A borrower is generally eligible for a Second Draw PPP Loan if the borrower:
The new guidance released includes:
For more information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses, visit sba.gov/ppp or treasury.gov/cares.
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Governor Baker Signs Health Care Legislation
BOSTON – Today, Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito joined Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders to participate in a ceremonial signing of S.2984, An Act Promoting a Resilient Health Care System That Puts Patients First.
Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito were also joined by Senator Cindy Friedman, Senator Julian Cyr, and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr to participate in the ceremonial signing. The Governor also acknowledged the work of Speaker of the House Ronald Mariano, Senate President Karen Spilka, and other legislators for their work in advancing this comprehensive health care legislation.
The new law increases insurance coverage for telehealth services, expands the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, other specialized nurses, and optometrists, and takes steps to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. Recognizing the continuing impacts of COVID-19, the law also extends requirements for all insurance carriers in Massachusetts to cover COVID-19 testing and treatment. In addition, the legislation takes several steps to increase MassHealth member access to urgent care sites, including eliminating referral requirements before urgent care visits and requirements for care coordination with the member’s primary care physician.
Click here to learn more about the new law.
Statement on
Mayoral Transition and Overwhelming Public Support for Elected School
Committee
The Boston Coalition for Education Equity (BCEE)
believes the appointment of Marty Walsh as Labor Secretary presents a timely
opportunity to promote equity and accountability to the Boston Public Schools
through the restoration of an elected School Committee. We call on the City
Council and on Council President Kim Janey, who will take over as acting mayor,
to start the process by affirming their support for an elected School Committee
and beginning public discussions on the board’s new formulation. Boston is the
only municipality in the Commonwealth without an elected school committee;
recent events have proven that this governance structure has failed and must be
immediately reformed.
A recent poll conducted by Poll Progressive
indicated that 60% of eligible voters would support the reinstatement of an
elected school board, with just 14% expressing opposition (the remaining
respondents had no opinion or were neutral). The voters cited the appointed
board’s lack of responsiveness to the parents and students whose interests it
is supposed to represent. In recent years the school committee has made several
decisions that went against the wishes of BPS families, including the
expropriation of the McCormack Middle School’s athletic fields, the closure of
both the Mattahunt Elementary and the West Roxbury Educational Complex, and
instituting drastic changes in start times at schools throughout BPS (this
decision was later rescinded after unprecedented levels of pushback).
In 2019, the Boston Herald analyzed a year’s
worth of School Committee votes and found that the committee approved all 111
action items put before them, with just four abstentions and no votes against.
Then-Chairman Michael Loconto refused to comment on the body’s voting record
and told a Herald reporter not to reach out to other committee members. In
2016, School Committee member Regina Robinson was the only member not to vote in
favor of closing the Mattahunt Elementary School. She was also the lone member
not to vote to close the West Roxbury Education Complex in 2018. Less than two
weeks after her second abstention of her four-year term, Mayor Marty Walsh
announced that he would replace Robinson with Quoc Tran, a state official and
civil rights lawyer.
These are just a few examples of how a mayorally
appointed school committee is responsive directly to the mayor, and through the
mayor to the power elite of the city, rather than to the students, families,
and educators it is intended to represent. BCEE finds the School Committee’s
performance particularly galling in a system made up of more than 80% students
of color, reinforcing structural racism.
Returning to an elected school committee is a
necessary and critical action Boston must take toward dismantling this
undemocratic and racist power structure. A majority of Boston City Councilors
support electing at least some of the School Committee members, as seen in
BCEE’s 2019 City Council Candidate Questionnaire. (https://www.bosedequity.org/city-council-questionnaire-responses). The Coalition will be releasing a new questionnaire
later this year for the 2021 election cycle.
In the recent Poll Progressive poll, support for
an elected school committee was consistent across demographic groups, including
age, gender, education level, and racial identity. For a full breakdown of the
poll results, visit Poll Progressive’s website at https://www.pollprogressive.com/.
The Boston Coalition for Education Equity is a
collaboration among civil rights, education, and community organizations from
across Boston that are committed to dismantling education inequity.
SBA and Treasury Announce PPP Re-Opening; Issue New Guidance
WASHINGTON –
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in
consultation with the Treasury Department, announced today that the Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP) will re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers
and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, initially
only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans
on Monday, January 11, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January
13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter.
Updated PPP guidance outlining Program changes to enhance its effectiveness and
accessibility was released on January 6 in accordance with the Economic
Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Non-Profits, and Venues Act.
This round of the PPP continues to prioritize millions of Americans employed by
small businesses by authorizing up to $284 billion toward job retention and
certain other expenses through March 31, 2021, and by allowing certain existing
PPP borrowers to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan.
“The historically successful Paycheck Protection Program served as an economic
lifeline to millions of small businesses and their employees when they needed
it most,” said Administrator Jovita Carranza. “Today’s guidance builds on
the success of the program and adapts to the changing needs of small business
owners by providing targeted relief and a simpler forgiveness process to ensure
their path to recovery.”
“The Paycheck Protection Program has successfully provided 5.2 million loans
worth $525 billion to America’s small businesses, supporting more than 51
million jobs,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This updated
guidance enhances the PPP’s targeted relief to small businesses most impacted
by COVID-19. We are committed to implementing this round of PPP quickly
to continue supporting American small businesses and their workers.
Key PPP updates include:
A borrower is generally eligible for a Second
Draw PPP Loan if the borrower:
(Boston Orange 周菊子綜合報導)麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)率州府團隊在今(8)日中午的新冠疫情匯報中宣佈，下個月起，將在自願參與模式下，為全州之內的學校、學區提供每週一次的合併檢測(pooled
testing)。
麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)再次強調戴口罩，保持社交安全距離
等作法，是最好的防疫措施。(周菊子攝)
透過和新冠病毒指揮中心和中小學教育廳的合作，提供到校上課或混合式學習，並參加州府這檢測計畫的學區，將會優先獲得檢測套件。
遠距學習或想要把學生帶回教室上課的學校，也可以參加合併檢測項目。有興趣的學區和學校可在1月15日之前通知中小學教育廳。
麻州州長查理貝克(Charlie Baker)表示，麻州政府和州內的所有醫院每日保持連絡，以確認他們有足夠資源，病床來收容，治療新冠病毒病人。
截至1月7日，麻州政府已發出345,000劑疫苗給各醫院及醫療機構，其中167,000劑已經使用，包括16,000劑是派發給了聯邦長照項目。
麻州副州長白莉朵(Karyn Polito)做進一步說明。
第一階段的疫苗注射計畫已開始，目前進展良好。1月11日起，麻州將開始在全州各地已設置的119個疫苗站，為第一線工作人員注射疫苗，指揮中心將繼續增設疫苗站，並於1月18日起提供疫苗給和聯邦政府藥物計畫沒有合作關係的機構。
查理貝克稱，專家們的研究認為學生到校上課，身心狀況及學習效果都比不到校上課好。州政府因此撥款10億元給學區，學校執行因應新冠病毒的相關措施。從今年8月以來，有3萬名學生，4000名教職員到校上課，並無任何狀況，可謂成功故事。麻州政府因此希望藉由合併檢測辦法，讓更多學生能夠回校上課。
麻州健康及人民服務長Marylou Sudders。
合併檢測是以”批量(batch)”，或者”匯集(pool)”的方式，混和幾種檢測樣本，然後以診斷，PCR測試方式來檢測匯集的樣本有無新冠病毒(SARS-CoV-2)。這種方法可藉由和單次PCR檢測同樣數量的實驗室資源，來增加能夠檢測的人數。
至少每週一次鼻前拭子檢測，結果可在24到48小時內出來。如果合併檢測結果是陰性，就可假設該群組中的所有個人都是陰性，就可以繼續留在學校。如果有一個群組檢測的結果是陽性，那麼這群組內的每一個人都要做個別診斷檢測。一旦辨別出確診個人後，這些人就必須遵守隔離指導原則。和確診個案有緊密接觸的學生，老師及員工，照目前規定，也必須隔離。
在州政府訂定的合約下，學區和學校將和協調檢測實驗室，為追蹤結果做科技平台，並為學校員工提供訓練，以及技術援助的群組檢測服務供應商合作。檢測將會由CLIA認證的實驗室做分析。
麻州中小學教育廳將在最初的推出這項目期間，承擔所需的大約1500萬元到3000萬元的開銷，並使用聯邦政府的促進經濟經費來資助。在這最初階段之後，學區及學校可以藉由使用各自的聯邦刺激方案經費，向全州性的合約商購買檢測，以及任何其他的配合檢測材料及軟體來繼續使用匯集檢測方法。
麻州政府今日宣佈的檢測策略是建立在12月時麻州在各學校推動得快色檢測計畫之上。麻州從聯邦政府那兒收到的Abbott
BinaxNow檢測，已有些現在是由公校學區，以及其他教育性機構，用於檢測顯現症狀的學生及員工。Abbott
BinaxNow檢測目前免費提供給100多個學校使用。
Baker-Polito Administration Announces Pooled Testing Initiative for Massachusetts Schools, Districts
BOSTON – The
Baker-Polito Administration today announced weekly COVID-19
pooled testing will be available within the next month to schools and districts
across the Commonwealth, expanding on a rapid testing initiative that began
in schools in December.
Pooled testing involves mixing several test samples together in a “batch” or “pool,” and then testing the pooled sample with a diagnostic, PCR test for detection of SARS-CoV-2. This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested using the same amount of laboratory resources as a single PCR test.
The test is performed at least once per week on an anterior nasal swab and results are delivered within approximately 24-48 hours. If a pooled test result is negative, then all individuals within that pool are presumed negative and may continue to remain in school. If a pooled test result is positive, then everyone in the pool is given an individual diagnostic test. Once positive individuals are identified, they must follow isolation guidance. Students, teachers, and staff that were close contacts of the positive case must quarantine according to current requirements.
Under a state contract being developed, districts and schools will work with pooled testing service providers who will coordinate with testing labs, implement a technology platform for tracking results, and provide training for school staff, and technical assistance. Tests will be analyzed at a CLIA-certified laboratory.
DESE will assume the costs for the testing initiative during the initial start-up of the program, estimated to cost between $15 million and $30 million, which will be funded by federal stimulus funds. Following the initial launch, districts and schools may continue using pooled testing by purchasing the tests and any other accompanying testing materials and software from a statewide contract using their federal stimulus dollars.
The testing strategy announced today
builds on a rapid
testing initiative launched at schools across the Commonwealth in December.
Massachusetts received Abbott BinaxNOW tests from the federal government, some
of which are currently being used in public school districts and other
educational settings to test students and staff showing symptoms. Abbott BinaxNOW
tests are currently provided to more than 100 schools at no cost.
Governor Baker, Senate President Spilka, House Speaker Mariano Issue Joint Statement on State House Security
BOSTON — Today, Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano issued the following joint statement:
“The safety of the Massachusetts State House, its employees and its neighbors is of utmost importance. As we witness the events in Washington, DC and across the nation, we are aware of the need to ensure the safety of this building and those who work within it. We continually assess our security needs and will adjust as necessary.”
