Good Morning Everyone,
Please find the latest updates from The City of Boston regarding and/or relating to COVID-19.
COVID-19 CASES
PHASE 2 GUIDELINES UPDATE
STATEWIDE TESTING UPDATE
BOSTON’S DATA UPDATE
RENTAL RELIEF FUND UPDATE
RENTAL VOUCHERS UPDATE
CONSTRUCTION ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
MAYOR’S GARDEN CONTEST
GENERAL REMINDERS
STAY INFORMED
COVID-19 CASES
The City of Boston has 12,906 positive cases of coronavirus (confirmed and presumptive). So far, 7,377 of these 12,906 residents have fully recovered. Unfortunately, there have been 658 COVID-19 related deaths in Boston.
The City posts race and ethnicity data for deaths, as well as for confirmed cases here.
The Boston Public Health Commission will be providing the updated total of cases in Boston residents as it is received from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Information can be found at boston.gov/coronavirus or bphc.org.
Massachusetts has 102,063 positive cases of coronavirus (confirmed and presumptive) and 7,201 deaths reported at this time. Massachusetts has also tested 621,248 individuals to date.
The City of Boston has two dashboards to provide statistics on COVID19 cases in Boston and throughout Massachusetts. View them here.
The City of Boston has a free texting service to provide daily updates and information about the coronavirus. Text BOSCOVID to 888-777 to opt-in for English. Language and communications access remains a priority for Mayor Walsh, so this text service which was available in Spanish, Haitan Creole, French, Cabo Verdean Creole, and Portuguese, now includes Somali, Chinese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Russian.
- Text BOSEspanol to 888-777 for Spanish
- Text BOSKreyol to 888-777 for Haitian Kreyol
- Text BOSFrancais to 888-777 for French
- Text BOSKriolu to 888-777 for Cabo Verdean Creole
- Text BOSPortugues to 888-777 for Portuguese
- Text BOSSoomali to 888-777 for Somali
- Text BOSChi to 888-777 for Simplified Chinese
- Text BOSbilAraby to 888-777 for Arabic
- Text BOSViet to 888-777 for Vietnamese
- Text BOSRus to 888-777 for Russian
Updates in 10 total languages can additionally be accessed through boston.gov/coronavirus#multilingual-help. Each language has its own page and hosts multilingual print materials distributed citywide.
PHASE 2 GUIDELINES UPDATE
- The Governor issued an executive order that clarifies which businesses and sectors fall into phase 2. The full list is at mass.gov/reopening. On Monday, June 2, businesses included in Phase 2 could enter their workplaces to start preparing. The executive order also includes information on phases 3 and 4.
- NOTE: Workers in any size organization have options if they feel they are being pressured into an unsafe situation. They include an online form at the Attorney General’s website and a dedicated Fair Labor hotline at 617-727-3465. People can also find those resources by calling 311.
- The State also released guidance on organized sports and outdoor recreation, retail stores, restaurants, hotels/lodging, health and human services, childcare, recreational summer camps, and youth programs.
- The State will allow scheduled outdoor visits at nursing home facilities, beginning today. Two visitors at a time, staff must stay with residents. Visitors must wear face coverings at all times and stay 6 feet apart.
- Additional guidance is coming out soon for the Soldiers Field Home.
Learn more about the reopening process: www.mass.gov/reopening.
STATEWIDE TESTING UPDATE
- Over 600,000 COVID tests, about 5% tests reported yesterday came back positive. In mid-April, that was 27%. This is a drop of 77% in positive tests since the beginning of May.
- 3 day average number of people hospitalized due to COVID has dropped 50% over the past 30 days.
- The state has received $374 million in federal funding to ramp up testing.
- 4.4% of the population tested each month. Would like to see it expand. By the end of June, the goal is 45,000 tests per day.
- The state’s STEP (Strategic Testing Expansion Program) program will identify important sites that need additional testing and attention. Governor Baker says the goal is to open 20 sites by the end of July in these so-called “testing deserts.”
BOSTON’S DATA UPDATE
- The data tells us that we continue to move in the right direction. And we have met the initial benchmarks that we set for moving forward in a gradual reopening.
- During the surge in April, Boston hospitals were treating ICU patients at over 120% of their combined normal capacity. We set a benchmark of getting to below 85% and, as of today, we are down to 81%.
- On Tuesday, the last patients were discharged from Boston Hope Medical Center.
- The City also met it’s benchmark of conducting at least 1,500 tests per day and has begun to bring testing to public housing and senior buildings.
- Our cumulative positive test rate is down to just below 23%. And for the week that ended on Saturday, our positive rate was 7.5%. These are the lowest numbers we’ve seen since the crisis began.
RENTAL RELIEF FUND UPDATE
- Today, the City announced the reopening of the application process for the Rental Relief Fund at noon this Friday, June 5 with an infusion of $5 million in new funding, in addition to the $3 million dedicated towards the Fund in April. The deadline to complete the initial pre-screening application is Friday, June 19, and applications will be available in seven languages on boston.gov/rentalrelief.
- Since the first round of applications closed in mid-April, the City has been receiving interest forms from residents who have requested information on the next round of funding, and to date the City has received 3,375 expressions of interest forms.
- In an effort to better serve residents in the current round announced today, the City is extending the pre-screening period to two weeks to help applicants determine their eligibility, and demonstrating the City’s commitment to ensuring fair and equitable access to this funding. The pre-application screening forms will be available in seven languages from Friday, June 5 to Friday, June 19. Any qualified applicants from the first round who do not receive funding will automatically be entered into the second round of the fund.
- The amount of assistance renters receive is determined by analyzing their income sources, including the federal Economic Impact Payment payments residents may have received. To qualify for financial assistance from Boston’s Rental Relief Fund, households must reside in the City of Boston and their income must be at or under 80% of Area Median Income which is $90,650 for a family of four. Preference will continue to be given to qualified applicants who were not eligible for unemployment benefits or, due to the nature of their jobs, would not receive full benefits. The Rental Relief Funds may be used for short-term rental assistance for up to three months. The funds may be used to cover more than one month’s rent or may be used to supplement partial payments of rent. For each household, financial assistance will not exceed more than $4,000 in a 12-month period.
- Since the Fund was first announced in April, the City has been working with partner organizations including Metro Housing|Boston, Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) and Project Hope to process the 1,600 applications received, ensure required documentation is provided by the applicant, and administer funds directly to the landlords. To date, over $680,000 in assistance has been disseminated to 210 households in 17 different neighborhoods to cover rent for April and May.
- A person’s immigration status is not asked during the Rental Relief Fund application process and receiving funds does not impact other financial assistance that a person may be already receiving. Additionally, assistance from the Rental Relief Fund does not affect immigration applications as a “public charge” ground of inadmissibility.
RENTAL VOUCHERS UPDATE
- So far, the Boston Housing Authority is working with 400 families who have children in the Boston Public Schools.
- 167 of those families have vouchers in hand and 86 are already in permanent housing.
- From now on, they will not pay more than 30% of their income toward rent. That’s going to provide them with stability and the opportunity to save money. It’s going to improve their health and wellbeing. It’s going to give those children a chance to learn and grow and dream. And that’s what every child deserves.
CONSTRUCTION ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS
- Construction has resumed on 21 city-sponsored affordable housing developments—representing 1,067 housing units and $425 million of total investment.
- Over 900 more income-restricted units, created through the Inclusionary Development Policy, are back in construction.
- The Boston Housing Authority has resumed construction on 880 new apartments in Roxbury, the South End, Jamaica Plain, South Boston, and East Boston.
- These will allow public housing residents to relocate into brand new, energy efficient homes; and as they move, new families will be able to come out of shelter and move into the existing units.
- In total, that’s nearly 3,000 affordable homes under construction right now. And we expect an additional 1,000 or more affordable units, that were approved this year by the BPDA board, to move forward as well.
MAYOR’S GARDEN CONTEST
The Mayor’s Garden Contest is now open and the entry deadline is Friday, July 10th. Eligibility, judging criteria, categories, and application instructions are available online here: boston.gov/mayors-garden-contest.
The safety of gardeners and contest judges is the top priority of the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Gardeners should follow all current advisories from the Boston Public Health Commission and the City of Boston. Visit the City’s coronavirus website for the latest information and guidance.
We want to see gardeners progress, before they officially submit their photos for consideration! Post your work in progress on social media and make sure to tag us and use #MayorsGardenContest and we may share your posts!
Additional questions can be sent to: GARDENCONTEST@BOSTON.GOV.
GENERAL REMINDERS
- Learn more about the reopening process: www.mass.gov/reopening. View The Full Report | View Guidance For Specific Industries.
- Applications for the first round of the Boston Reopen Fund are live. More information can be found at boston.gov/reopenfund. The $6 million Fund is a new resource to help small businesses minimize risk and manage economic recovery during reopening.
- Stay home. If you must go outside, practice physical distancing from others (6 feet apart); avoid crowded places.
- Wear a face covering if you absolutely must go outside. Visit CDC guidelines on face coverings for more information and guidance.
- Anyone experiencing a medical emergency should call 911.
- Observe the recommended curfew for everyone in Boston except for essential workers to stay at home from 9pm to 6am daily.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol; avoid shaking hands
- Cover your coughs and sneezes; clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces; and avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- If you think you might be sick, please call your doctor or 311 to be connected to the Mayor’s Health Line 617-534-5050. Buoy Health has created a free online diagnostic tool which screens for COVID19 at buoy.com/mass.
- Donate supplies to first responders here.
- Donate to the City of Boston Resiliency Fund here.
- Volunteer with the City of Boston here.
- Fresh Truck Open Air Markets schedule.
- City Hall is open to the public on Tuesdays and Fridays, 9am – 5pm. Learn more about the status of city departments and hours of operation here.
- Fill out the 2020 Census. The Census informs how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years. It’s more critical than ever to ensure that all Bostonians are counted.
- Tell the Parks Department where you would like to see more open space in our neighborhood here.
STAY INFORMEDReceive the latest COVID19 info from reliable sources. Visit: bphc.org/coronavirus; boston.gov/coronavirus; mass.gov/2019coronavirus. Call: 311 or 211.
Best,Shanice–
Shanice Pimentel
Neighborhood/Constituency Liaison for
Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Fenway, Kenmore, and Mission Hill
Mayor Martin J. Walsh
Office of Neighborhood Services
617-635-2679
Sign up for neighborhood news here.
