The Baker Administration is out with new pandemic guidance. The Governor says he is concerned by the number of cases of the coronavirus sparked by the Omnicron variant. And he says it is putting the state behind the eight ball.
The Governor is calling up 500 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals meet the local need. The Governor says the state has lost more than 500 surgical beds because of staffing shortages. They are all in training this week ready to go to as many as 55 hospitals as needed.
The Guard members will perform a variety of services.
Non-emergency transport between facilities: driving ambulances used to transfer patients between two healthcare locations such as when patients are discharged from a hospital and transferred to a long term care facility.
Patient observers: providing continuous or frequent observation of a patient who is at risk for harm to themselves.
Security support: helping to maintain a safe workplace.
In-hospital transport: bringing patients via wheelchair or, if needed, stretcher, from their patient room to tests such as x-ray or CT scan, or from the emergency department to their inpatient floor.
The Governor says getting vaccinated is still the best way to beat the virus. He says the state is a national leader in COVID-19 vaccinations, with over 94% of eligible residents having received at least one dose. Over 89% of the entire Massachusetts population has at least one dose, and 74% of the entire population fully vaccinated. Massachusetts also leads the nation in vaccinating communities of color, with 68% of all black residents and 67% of all Hispanic residents receiving at least one dose, compared to 42.0% of black residents and 51.7% of Hispanic residents nationally.
In addition, all hospitals as of next week will postpone non- essential elected surgeries. But state officials have also expressed the need for patients to seek medical attention if need be. And the Department of Public Health says that all people in the state, regardless of vaccination status are required to wear face coverings in health care settings and mass transportation.
The Governor's office says anything that has been issued regarding the school system in the state is not impacted by the latest announcement.
(Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)