By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Boston, MA) Today Governor Charlie Baker announced Massachusetts hospitals will once again cut elective procedures to curb the strain of COVID-19 on the hospital system. The new order will go into effect this Friday, December 11.
“We are certainly better able to handle this than we were before,” said Baker. But Baker qualified his statement by pointing out that Massachusetts is once again in a surge of COVID-19 cases, partially he believes due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Baker also announced an expansion of the free testing programs across Massachusetts. More testing locations will be made available in each county. These testing locations will be equipped to handle the snow and cold that comes with the winter season. Free testing in Franklin County will be coming to Greenfield as a mobile testing service and the new location will be operational by the end of the month. Turn around time for state sponsored testing locations is on average less than two days according to Baker.