Updates from state government

• As of Thursday night, DPH reported a total of 119,819 cases of COVID-19. The state has now confirmed a total of 8,870 deaths from the virus.
• The number of communities categorized by the state as at the highest risk for COVID-19 spread fell again in the latest weekly report. Brockton and Sutton no longer fall into the “red” or high risk category, a designation assigned to communities with a daily average more than eight cases per 100,000 residents reported over the last two weeks. Seven communities remain coded red from last week, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere and Winthrop. Of those, the highest rate is in Chelsea, with 29.4 cases per 100,000 residents, down from 31.9 last week. Nearby Revere, home to the next highest rate, experienced a slight uptick, from 20.4 last week to 20.9.
• Field teams will fan out across 15 locations this weekend to encourage people to do their part to slow the spread of the coronavirus and connect them with resources as the Baker administration launches a new campaign to address the five Massachusetts communities that have shown the most persistently high COVID-19 case and transmission rates.
• An extension of the COVID-19 Enforcement and Intervention Team announced in August to assist high-risk communities, the newest effort is expected to feature billboard ads, digital and social media messaging, multi-lingual field teams, phone and text outreach, and communication with local organizations. It will all be focused on Chelsea, Everett, Lawrence, Lynn and Revere, five communities that the governor said have recorded “persistent dangerously-high transmission rates” for the potentially fatal virus.
• The Senate agreed Thursday to give the Transportation Committee eight more days to act on a commercial driver’s license reform bill (H 3980), which Gov. Charlie Baker filed in July 2019 after a driver whose Massachusetts license should have been suspended caused a crash in New Hampshire that led to multiple fatalities.
• Senators also amended and passed legislation to convey the UMass agricultural extension’s Waltham field station to the city of Waltham. The bill (S 2906) requires that the land be used for open space, recreation, or agricultural purposes.
• A historic house at Bradley Palmer State Park in Hamilton, which is leased out by the Department of Conservation and Recreation under the Historic Curatorship Program, would be exempted from taxes under a bill (H 4193) also approved Thursday.
• The House granted the Labor and Workforce Development Committee more time Thursday to decide on a trio of bills dealing with essential workers, COVID-19 unemployment benefits for non-profits, and workers compensation protection. The House agreed to a Senate amendment that would give the committee until Sept. 10 to report on the bills.
• The House also gave initial approval to bills creating several memorial bridges in Leicester and passed legislation allowing for a memorial bridge in Gardner.
• U.S Rep. Katherine Clark said Thursday that Democrats could look to use the federal budget process to force more spending if they can’t reach a deal with Senate Republicans and the White House on a new stimulus bill. Clark, a top-ranking Democrat in the House, said Democrats will “continue to push” for the Senate to take up a version of the more than $3 trillion Heroes Act, but said the federal budget could be a vehicle for COVID-19 relief spending if that fails.
• Massachusetts lawmakers still have not approved a budget for the fiscal year that began in July, and could be looking at a $6 billion revenue gap. The nation’s governors have requested $500 billion to stabilize state finances, and Gov. Charlie Baker has said that it’s imperative for Congress to do something to help.
• On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ending Aug. 29 fell by 130,000 to a seasonally adjusted 881,000, which some officials pointed to as a sign that the economy was slowly recovering. The department, however, reported that initial claims were up 460 to 18,054 in Massachusetts, where the unemployment rate has been among the highest in the country.

From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 559 with 10 new cases today. 3,944 Lynn residents have recovered and 117 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 4,620. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

STOP THE SPREAD Initiative

COVID-19 mobile testing sites in the City week of 9/7:
•Fallon Ambulance offers testing at the following locations. Walk up Only:

Parking lot at Lynn English High School
Mon – Sat from 11:00am until 5:00pm

Parking Lot across from Market Basket on Federal Street
Mon – Sat 12:00pm-6:00pm

Call Lynn Community Health Center (581) 3900 to make a COVID-19 test appointment at 9 Buffum Street location

Please visit http://www.ci.lynn.ma.us/covid19/resources.shtml#p7GPc1_2 for more information on how you can get a free COVID-19 test in the City of Lynn until September 12.

We will continue to provide regular updates on COVID-19 through the City website (www.lynnma.gov), social media, and the Smart 911 emergency notification system (sign up at www.smart911.com).