“Claimants Criminal enterprises in possession of stolen personal information from earlier national data breaches have been attempting to file large amounts of illegitimate unemployment claims through the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) system. This is part of a national unemployment fraud scheme.
The Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has begun implementing additional identity verification measures that will temporarily delay the payment timeframe for many unemployment claims in Massachusetts. As a result of these measures, certain unemployment claimants may be asked to provide additional identity information in order to verify the validity of their claim.” Read more in the MEMA Command Center Site Report
The Massachusetts Higher Education Working Group has submitted recommendations for how Colleges and Universities can safely reopen in the fall. Each campus will make its own decisions, but this framework will help guide the conversation in Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Weekly Covid-19 Public Health Report (Updated today) has detailed information including Town-by-Town numbers and numbers related to long-term care facilities: https://www.mass.gov/doc/weekly-covid-19-public-health-report-may-27-2020/download
Mass website featuring all Covid-19 testing sites: www.mass.gov/covid-testmap
Massachusetts comprehensive daily “dashboard” illustrating the spread of this virus across regions and demographics: https://www.mass.gov/doc/covid-19-dashboard-may-27-2020/download
Testing has a turnaround time of 1 – 4 days and many cases are being clinically diagnosed (no testing or reporting involved). All are advised to behave as though they are carriers of Covid-19.
805 Holyoke residents have been confirmed positive by testing.
5,845 confirmed cases in Hampden County (1% increase)
843 in Hampshire (<1% increase)
317 in Franklin (<1% increase)
539 in Berkshire county (<1% increase)
The curve we need to flatten: County numbers graphed over time can be found here: https://www.wmasscovid.com/
Massachusetts has now experienced a total of 6,547 deaths connected to Covid-19
Please be advised that you may be contacted by Public Health officials as part of the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Initiative sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. If you have tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to someone who has tested positive, you may receive a call from your local Board of Health or from the MA Department of Public Health. The call will only take a few minutes and is a necessary step to limit the spread of the virus. Your information will not be shared with any other agencies and these officials will never ask for your social security number or health insurance information. If you have any questions about a call you received, contact us at coronaresponse@holyoke.org
MEMA Command Center Site Report
We are in PHASE 1: START
Opened May 18:
- Essential Businesses & Services
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Outdoor Spaces
- Places of Worship
- Limited Health and Human services will begin to reopen – details here
Opened May 25
- Beaches, with activity restrictions
- Car Washes
- Drive-in Movie Theaters
- Hair Salons and Barbershops
- Laboratories
- Libraries, curbside only
- Office Spaces (employers are encouraged to keep as many employees working remotely for as long as possible)
- Outdoor recreation activities, with limitations
- Pet Grooming Services
- Recreational Marijuana, curbside only
- Retail, curbside only
General Reopening Information
- CDC Guidance for Reopening
- Reopening Massachusetts Website
- Safer-at-Home Advisory
- If you are wondering when your business may open, you can check the full timeline here.