City of Framingham Reports 2 New Cases of Coronavirus

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FRAMINGHAM – The City of Framingham announced 2 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases since 179, as of April 10.

The City of Framingham is reporting 5 deaths, since the pandemic began according to the Mayor’s office.

SOURCE reported a resident of Shillman House in the Nobscot section of the City has died from complications from COVID-19.

No other information was released by the City on deaths or cases.

The City has not released the age of the individuals who have died, if they were hospitalized, or if they had a pre-existing conditions. The state does release this information, but by county not by municipality.

The City said 21 individuals have recovered from the coronavirus.

The City says it has 153 active cases.

Framingham has the most cases in MetroWest.

Neighboring Marlborough has 99 cases.

The Governor has said the surge in cases could hit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today through April 20.

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Framingham has a population of about 70,000. It is unknown how many Framingham residents have been tested.

The City said via its spokesperson it does not have “Framingham-specific information on how many of our residents are being tested.  The state receive statewide information from all testing labs on the number of tests conducted each day.  We, nor any individual community, receive community-specific information from any testing lab.”

The City is not releasing any “contact tracing” information to the public, that includes nursing homes, senior facilities, supermarkets, etc.

Yesterday, SOURCE reported an employee at the CVS in Nobscot tested positive, and the store closed for several hours, before re-opening in the evening.

AARP Massachusetts sent a letter to the Massachusetts Governor seeking the names of senior facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases made public.

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“We urge Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health to release publicly the names of nursing facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases,” wrote AARP Massachusetts on behalf of its 775,000 AARP members in Massachusetts.

“Contrary to concerns that such disclosures would violate a patient’s health privacy, we do not believe HIPAA precludes a state health agency from releasing the names of facilities because a facility is not a covered entity as defined by federal law. We believe transparency and notice to the public is critical for public health,” wrote AARP Massachusetts.

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“Moreover, caregivers and family members need and deserve to have this information for their own health decisions and as they consider possible next steps and interventions for their loved ones,” wrote AARP Massachusetts.

In Framingham, three senior facilities have had positive cases – Shillman House in Nobscot, Mary Ann Morse at Heritage, again in the Nobscot section of the City, and Saint Patrick’s Manor on Central Street.

SOURCE posted about the positive cases, but the information originally came from residents & employees, and confirmed by the owners, and not from the City of Framingham nor the Commonwealth. The City of Framingham has refused to release this information.