As of today there are 830 Cambridge residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 66 residents who have passed away. Learn more here:https://bit.ly/2J2BnQj. There are 76,743 cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, including 17,307 in Middlesex County. 376,537 tests have been performed and 4,840 patients have passed away. Learn more here:https://bit.ly/2AexiY5.
Cambridge Updates
Riverbend Park will not open tomorrow, Sunday May 10th or Sunday May 17th and Memorial Drive will remain open to vehicular traffic. After Sunday the 17th, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the City of Cambridge will reassess the status of Riverbend Park and Memorial Drive. I know this is hard, and I understand that some in our community are looking for more space and have asked for Memorial Drive to open to pedestrians. However, it is important to note that after the City Council vote, the Cambridge Health Alliance Advisory Board voted in opposition to re-opening Memorial Drive to pedestrians as we are still in the middle of a medical surge due to the pandemic. Leadership at Mt. Auburn Hospital has also expressed great concern for proposed plans to allow for pedestrian traffic. I will support the decisions being led by our hospitals whose staff are risking their lives to care for us. We will turn a corner-we are just not there today. On a heartening note, I am relieved to know that Massachusetts hospitals came together and developed a plan to share Remdesivir, an experimental drug manufactured by Gilead Sciences, received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on May 1, after the antiviral treatment showed promise in a government-run trial for treating COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said preliminary data showed patients who received Remdesivir recovered 31% faster than those who received a placebo.
Multilingual resources are always available on the City of Cambridge's website. This includes translated information on city resources and about COVID-19. You can find them here: https://bit.ly/2wKXAzA.
State Action Updates
The Governor's administration and the Mass League of Community Health Centers are launching a COVID-19 public awareness campaign to encourage residents to continue to seek care for medical conditions and remind individuals not to delay treatment due to COVID-19. You can learn more here: https://bit.ly/3bkQb8o.
Federal Action Updates
Those who qualify for the federal economic impact payment, or stimulus check, and have not yet received it should use an IRS online service portal by Wednesday at noon to speed up the delivery of their payment. You can find the service portal here: https://bit.ly/2LiBqby.
Where to give:
If you are able to give to others during this time, I encourage you to look to the following places that are working to help those most affected by COVID-19:
Mayor's Disaster Relief Fund: https://bit.ly/3bgTBJU
Cambridge Health Alliance: https://bit.ly/2vWegUB
Cambridge Community Foundation: https://bit.ly/33ImGeE
Food for Free: https://bit.ly/3afFuEE
Greater Boston Food Bank: https://www.gbfb.org/
Cradles to Crayons Emergency Essentials Fund: https://bit.ly/2WHOD4V
Enroot Emergency Immigrant Cash Assistance Fund: https://bit.ly/2y7bBIe
The One Chelsea Fund: https://bit.ly/2W6dGO7
As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions or concerns at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Sincerely,
Marjorie