City of Worcester, MA

COVID-19 Update for April 15; 910 Positive Cases

For Immediate Release: 4/15/2020 5:55 pm

• There are now 910 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in the City of Worcester.
  
  
• Positive cases for surrounding towns: Shrewsbury: 95, Grafton: 35, Holden: 29, Leicester: 15
  
  
• Since April 1, Worcester has seen an increase of 795 new cases (average of 57 new cases per day). A total of 87 percent of the positive cases in Worcester have come since April 1.
  
  
• As of today, there are 24 positive patients at the homeless shelter at Worcester Technical High School.
  
  
• Next round of homeless testing: SMOC homeless shelter residents will be tested tomorrow morning and afternoon with anticipated results 12-24 hours later.
  
  
• Beaumont Rehabilitation in Worcester will have 60 positive patients on site by the end of today. Max capacity at that facility is 142. 
  
  
• The Worcester Police Department has a total of 5 positive cases (4 of the positive members are quarantined). Seven other officers are self-quarantined as a result of exposure to the positive cases.
  
  
• The Worcester Fire Department has a total of 6 positive cases. All six have been cleared to return to duty; two members are in self-quarantine.
  
  
• All combined medical facilities of Saint Vincent Hospital and UMass Memorial Health Care had 208 total COVID-positive in-patients and 79 total COVID-positive ICU patients today. To date, their facilities have had 36 total COVID-related deaths. A total of 106 of their employees have tested positive for the virus.
  
  

• A total of 70 local individuals in the creative sector have been selected to receive $500 grants through the Worcester Creative Relief Fund established by the Worcester Cultural Coalition and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation to help supplement income the creative community has lost due to COVID-19 ($35,000 total). Grants in the amount of $500 have been awarded to artists who live or work in Worcester and have had their creative practices and incomes adversely impacted by COVID-19. Grant recipients have been notified by email and payments will go out as soon as possible. The Worcester Cultural Coalition has also established a repository of resources for the creative community at worcesterculture.org. 

• To date, Worcester Together has raised more than $4.2 million and has distributed 51 grants totaling $616,000. That includes 23 new grants totaling $223,000. These grants have gone to everything from tele-health capacity increases to refrigeration for a food pantry. To donate visit: worcesterma.gov/coronavirus or text “worcestercovid19” to 243725.

• Today the City Manager recognized another unsung hero within the City workforce, Communications Specialist Amy Peterson. A 2003 graduate of Worcester State University, she joined the city in 2017 and has been an indispensable member of the team ever since. Before that, she served as Director of Marketing for the DCU Center, where she worked for more than nine years. She has also served as a Blood Donor Recruiter for the American Red Cross of New England and as Director of Marketing for Citadel Broadcasting. Amy leads communications, marketing and media relations and is responsible for communications strategies, PR efforts, brand development and digital media. She handles social media posts, updating and maintaining the website, coordinating events and publishing the employee newsletter. She has been an invaluable part of everything done out of the Emergency Operations Centerduring the COVID-19 crisis, responding to the latest emergency and working with the media relations team to stay on top of key developments.

• Senior Center update: Number of seniors contacted to date: 3,608; Outreach phone calls made today: 169; Number of meals delivered to seniors in Worcester today: 1,032. All the UMass medical student "buddies" have been linked with appropriate seniors (15 English speaking, five Chinese speaking and two Vietnamese). Medical students are calling and checking in on these seniors and making sure their social distancing is not social isolation. 
  
  
• 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.