City of Worcester, MA

COVID-19 Update for April 1; 165 Positive Cases

For Immediate Release: 4/1/2020 5:55 pm

• There are now 165 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the City of Worcester. All 165 individuals are being monitored by the Worcester Division of Public Health and are in isolation.

• 2 homeless individuals from the shelter at Ascension Church have been tested and are now at Worcester Tech being quarantined until they receive test results.
  
  
• 1 member of the Worcester Police Department has tested positive; 2 members have been quarantined.
  
  
• 5 members of the Worcester Fire Department have tested positive and are in isolation. 26 are quarantined (4 stations affected). In the WFD recruit class there is 1 positive case. A total of 27 recruits are quarantined, including 8 academy trainers. These quarantied members of the WFD will come out of quarantine on Friday.

• Setup began today at the state's first field medical station (250-beds) at the DCU Center. The City Manager, Mayor, City Council and the local legislative delegation toured the facility earlier today. The City would like to recognize and thank the work of the Baker-Polito Administration as well as the National Guard, FEMA, MEMA and UMass Memorial. There will be a 3-4 day setup period for the facility as UMass is looking for it to be operational by next Thursday.
  
  
• UMass Memorial Healthcare is looking to hire medical professionals and students to staff this field medical station. UMass is immediately recruiting employees, including nurses, PCAs and other health professionals as well as current students in a medical, nursing, pharmacy, and physician assistant, or respiratory programs. For more information, visit: joinumassmemorial.com.
  
  
• After consultation with the Worcester Red Sox and Gilbane, the City has announced that construction at Polar Park will be temporarily suspended until May 4 in accordance with guidance from Governor Baker announced on Tuesday. Construction has ceased as of 12 p.m. on April 1 and the site will be secured by the end of the day Friday. 

• Small Business Resiliency Grants update: Just over 260 total applications have been received with 174 eligible applicants. Approximately 70 are sole proprietors. Total funding is expected to be in the $1.2 million - $1.4 million range. Of eligible applicants, nearly 40 percent are women-owned businesses, nearly 60 percent are businesses owned by a minority/people of color and 30 percent are owned by Hispanics.
  
  
• The Worcester Cultural Coalition, in partnership with the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, is addressing the acute and long-term needs of arts and culture workers and nonprofits, through a modest grant program. The Worcester Creative Relief Fund will award grants in the amount of $500 to artists who live or work in Worcester and have had their creative practices and incomes adversely impacted by COVID-19. The Fund is designed to support Worcester artists of all types (visual, performing, design, etc.) who have been financially impacted by event/gig cancellations, the inability to exhibit their work/book shows, and/or have lost revenue from their day jobs being eliminated due to COVID-19. Complete applications must be received by 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 8 and can be found at worcesterculture.org/worcester-creative-relief-fund.

• Today the City Manager met with employees at the Department of Public Works’ Division of Streets & Sanitation, where he listened to their concerns about health and safety as they go about their jobs each day during the COVID-19 crisis. The city is committed to ensuring the safest possible conditions for all employees at all times, and particularly during this crisis. Safety items delivered today to DPW included: a mister, hand sanitizer, gloves, masks, goggles. A portable shower will be delivered tomorrow (for use by Sanitation workers).
  
  
• Due to an abundance of caution, City of Worcester residential drop-off sites for bulk, leaf and yard waste drop-off will not be opening at this time. The Residential Drop-off Center located at 1065 Millbury Street will remain OPEN for household recyclable drop-off Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The City’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day that was previously scheduled for April 25 has been cancelled and will be rescheduled. Residential street sweeping will begin the week of April 13.
  
  
• Worcester Together, a partnership between the City of Worcester, the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and United Way of Central Massachusetts, continues to raise money for efforts dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. To date, the fund has raised in excess of $2.5 million. To donate visit: worcesterma.gov/coronavirus or text “worcestercovid19” to 243725.
  
  
• Senior Center Update: number of seniors contacted to date: 1,744; Outreach phone calls: 169 calls made today; Number of meals delivered in Worcester today: 1,006.
  
  
• The City of Worcester COVID-19 information line can be reached at 508-799-1019. This service is available in multiple languages. Individuals can speak live with a nurse, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The line has received more than 2,300 calls with more than 380 connected to a live nurse.