Dear all,
I write to you this evening with relevant COVID-19 updates and resources.
As of today, there are 1058 Cambridge residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and 95 residents have passed away. Learn more here. There are 105,885 cases of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, including 23,269 in Middlesex County. 719,236 patients have been tested, and 7,665 have passed away. Learn more here.
Call for Volunteers
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered with my office to make check-in calls to senior citizens in our community. My office is continuing to do this outreach. If you are interested in volunteering to make calls, please email me at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Town Hall
Tomorrow at 5PM, I will be holding a town hall focused on racial justice. I will be joined by Chair of the Massachusetts Black and Latino Legislative Caucus Representative Carlos González, Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville Bard, and Lisa Laguerre, Associate Director of Community Relations for the Institute on Race and Justice at Northeastern University.
You can sign up for the Zoom webinar or tune in on CCTV Channel 9 or Facebook Live. Please submit questions that you have to Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Thanks to CCTV, you can find recordings of all previous town halls here.
Cambridge Updates
The City of Cambridge, Cambridge Public School District, and the Department of Human Service Programs will be identifying 400 families in need for free internet access for one year starting now.
The Cambridge Public Library will be holding its annual summer reading program from June 22nd to August 28th. All ages and abilities are welcome, and registration begins 6/22.
The City of Cambridge's Community Benefits Advisory Committee will be issuing an application for $10,000 grants for up to 100 eligible nonprofit organizations in the City. Grants will be awarded to provide services to vulnerable Cambridge residents during the COVID-19 emergency and recovery, and the application will become available in early July.
The Cambridge Public Health Department has released guidance for Cambridge business managers on the local board of health reporting for COVID-19.
Where to get tested:
Cambridge residents age 8 or older can get tested at the following location free of charge regardless of insurance or immigration status:
CHA East Cambridge Care Center
- To schedule an appointment call 617-665-2928
Translation Resources Available:
Multilingual city resources and information on COVID-19 are available on the City’s multilingual help page.
State Action Updates
Today, Attorney General Maura Healey and 38 other attorneys general sent a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Apple CEO Tim Cook to flag concerns that there are contact-tracing apps available on Android and Apple devices that fall short in protecting personal information and asked the CEOs to remove contact tracing apps not linked to government or health officials.
The Massachusetts Association of Community Action, the Boston Tax Coalition and Code for America are piloting a virtual VITA program to provide free tax prep assistance online.
The Red Cross of Massachusetts has set up a Virtual Family Assistance Center which provides virtual programs, information, referrals and support services for those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.
Governor Baker Press Conference Updates:
Governor Baker did not hold a press conference today.
MassHealth Updates:
The Health Connector will be hosting a webinar tomorrow at 4PM to inform individuals and families who may be in need of health insurance coverage of coverage options available to MA residents through the Health Connector and how to access them.
Federal Action Updates
The Small Business Administration reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and EIDL Advance program portals to all new applicants today. This means that additional small businesses and non-profits will be able to apply for long-term, low-interest loans and emergency grants provided by the SBA.
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:
Cambridge Community Foundation
Cradles to Crayons Emergency Essentials Fund
Enroot Emergency Immigrant Cash Assistance Fund
I also encourage you to donate to the following organizations that are engaging in racial justice work:
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
Families for Justice as Healing
As always, do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions or concerns at Marjorie.Decker@mahouse.gov.
Sincerely,
Marjorie