►
From YouTube: COVID-19 Media Availability 9-17-20
Description
Mayor Walsh hosts a media availability to discuss updates relating to COVID-19.
A
Thank
you
very
much.
I
want
to
begin
by
expressing
my
sadness
in
our
city
sadness.
The
passing
yesterday
of
active
duty,
emt,
regina
phillips,
ent
phillips,
was
a
12-year
veteran
of
boston
ems
where
she
was
assigned
to
ambulance
number
19.,
she's,
a
lifelong
boston,
resident
a
mother,
a
daughter
and
a
friend
to
so
many
people.
Our
emt
and
paramedics
have
shown
incredible
courage
and
devotion.
During
this
pandemic,
regina
phillips
exemplified
all
of
those
qualities
she
cared
for
countless
numbers
of
patients
and
she
she
better
the
lives
of
everyone
that
she
came
in
contact
with.
A
A
The
latest
coven
numbers
in
boston
in
massachusetts,
yesterday's
massachusetts,
number
295
new,
confirmed
cases
bringing
the
total
in
massachusetts
to
123
720,
confirmed
cases.
There
were
20
new
debts
yesterday,
bringing
the
debt
total
to
9036.
boston's
numbers.
I
can
report
as
of
today.
We
have
60
new
cases
for
a
total
of
16
430
cases.
A
A
For
the
week
ending
september
12th,
the
positive
rate
in
boston
was
2.8
percent.
That's
up
from
1.5
percent
the
week
before.
Some
of
that
increase
in
positive
rate
was
due
to
fewer
tests
happening.
Over
the
labor
day
weekend
tests
went
down
dramatically
from
around
3
000
per
day
for
the
week
ending
on
september
5th,
to
1800
per
day
the
week
ending
september
12th
the
number
of
positive
tests
change
from
an
average
of
49
a
day
to
52
a
day.
So
it's
possible
that
the
testing
ramped
up
again
the
positive
rate,
will
go
back
down.
A
A
So
that's
important
and
we
want
to
make
sure
that
no
one
gets
hurt.
Here's
what
we
have
some
neighborhood
numbers
that
I
want
to
present
to
everyone
today.
East
boston
was
down
to
a
positive
test
rate
of
5.2
percent
and
that's
incredible
progress
after
a
high
of
11.4.
If
you
remember
a
few
months
a
few
weeks
ago,
I
was
here,
and
we
talked
about
east
boston,
11.4
percent.
That
number
is
now
down
to
5.2
percent
mobile
testing
remains
in
east
boston
through
saturday,
and
our
multilingual
outreach
continues.
A
So
we
want
we're
increasing
testing
in
easty,
even
when
the
the
mobile
outreach
team
is
not
in
east
anymore.
We
still
have
a
lot
of
testing
on
each
boston,
but
several
neighborhoods
this
week
went
up
a
bit
between
four
and
five
percent
and
those
neighborhoods
are
austin
brighton,
dorchester,
high
park,
roslindale
and
west
roxbury,
other
neighborhoods
were
all
or
at
below.
A
2.5
percent,
roxbury,
south
boston,
jp
back
bay,
south
end
fenway
and
charlestown
and
mattapan
we're
looking
at
responses
for
the
neighborhoods
with
the
higher
positive
rates
in
the
lower
testing
numbers,
because
we
want
to
be
able
to
make
sure
we're
going
to
address
those
properly.
That
includes
new
locations
for
our
mobile
testing
unit
in
the
dorchester
roxbury
area,
we're
asking
and
I'm
encouraging
everyone
to
get
tested,
especially
if
you're
going
out
to
work.
A
If
you
live
in
a
household
where
people
are
working
or
you
have
been
around
other
people
in
gatherings
of
any
kind-
and
that
doesn't
mean
you
don't
have
to
be
symptomatic,
it's
important
that
you
do
get
tested.
We
have
testing
facilities
all
throughout
the
city
through
the
investment
in
partnership
with
the
community
health
centers
and
the
boston
resiliency
fund.
So
I
want
to
thank
all
of
the
health
centers
out
there.
Anybody
looking
wants
to
find
testing
locations.
You
can
go
to
boston.gov
coronavirus
or,
as
I
mentioned
the
other
day
on
your
iphone.
A
A
Those
are
neighborhoods
that
have
high
positivity
rates
last
week,
so
we
want
to
make
sure
we
get
as
many
people
tested
as
possible
as
possible.
That
service
runs
seven
days
a
week,
but
you
can
only
get
online
appointments.
The
test
is
no
cost
to
you,
regardless
of
your
insurance.
It's
open
to
anyone
who
has
a
symptom.
A
known
exposure
has
been
in
a
public
gathering
or
living
in
certain
group
settings
or
works
in
a
high-risk
field.
A
under
16s
needs
to
be
with
a
parent,
parent
or
guardian,
and
I
want
to
thank
cvs
and
their
workers
for
expanding
this
program,
we're
going
to
keep
bringing
resources
to
where
they're
needed
the
most
and
I'm
as
they
say
every
time.
I'm
here
it's
a
broken
record,
but
I
want
to
continue
to
be
a
broken
record.
We're
asking
people
to
keep
your
distance
six
feet
from
each
other.
A
A
The
boston
public
schools
begins
the
school
year
with
all
remote
learning
this
coming
monday
september
21st.
As
a
reminder,
our
hybrid
learning
plan
does
not
begin
to
phase
in
until
october.
First
we're
going
to
phase
in
with
the
highest
needs
and
and
younger
younger
students,
and
then
we're
going
to
have
additional
grades
into
november.
A
If
you're
looking
for
any
type
of
food
resources
in
the
city
of
boston
to
follow
up
on
schools
or
any
other
resources,
we're
asking
you
to
go
to
boston,
dot,
gov,
slash
food
resource
map,
that's
food
resources
map,
it
doesn't
matter
where
your
child
goes
to
school,
whether
it's
a
boston,
public
school,
a
charter,
school
parochial
school,
private,
school
or
if
they're,
homeschooled,
no
id
or
registration,
is
required
to
pick
up.
Meals
and
children
do
not
need
to
be
with
you.
A
In
addition,
the
boston
public
schools
will
be
providing
every
single
bps
student
with
a
free
breakfast
and
lunch
every
single
school
day
as
we
do
each
year.
This
is
how
it
works.
Starting
next
week.
There'll
be
21
bps
sites
where
you
can
pick
up
a
five
five
days
of
meals
in
one
trip.
These
sites
will
be
open
on
tuesdays
and
wednesdays,
for
families
to
pick
up
a
week's
worth
of
meals.
A
When
students
enter
the
school
for
hybrid
learning,
they'll
be
served
meals
safely
in
schools.
Schools
will
not
do
this
in
in
in
in
various
ways.
They'll
be
doing
this
a
various
way
they
should
say
depending
on
the
building.
So
it's
really
going
to
be
up
to
the
leadership
and
the
teachers
in
the
school
and
the
lunch
folks
to
explain
and
the
parents
you'll
know
that
when
your
child
goes
to
school
at
the
end
of
their
second
day
in
a
school
building
of
stu
of
hybrid
learning,
these
are
the
students
that
come
in.
A
We
have
hybrid,
a
and
b.
At
the
end
of
the
second
day,
students
will
be
given
three
days
of
meals
to
take
home
for
the
rest
of
the
week,
because
they'll
be
in
the
building
two
out
of
the
five
days
of
the
week
for
students
who
continue
learning
all
remotely
the
meal
sites
will
continue
to
provide
five
days
a
meal.
So
parents
who
have
opted
in
will
be
able
your
child
to
be
able
to
get
two
meals
in
the
school
and
three
take
home.
A
Parents
that
didn't
opt
into
school,
decided
to
keep
their
kids
at
home
and
learn
remotely
you'll,
be
able
to
pick
up
at
the
meal
sites
five
days
a
week
of
food
and
for
special
needs
students
having
meals
delivered
to
their
home.
Those
deliveries
will
continue
until
they
into
your
student
or
your
child
goes
back
in
person.
Learning
opening
our
school's
school
building
safely
is
an
all
hands
on
deck
effort
and,
in
fact,
we're
still
staffing
up
and
welcome
we're
asking
people
who
are
interested
in
potential
jobs.
A
We
have
job
openings
for
bus
monitors
and
several
other
positions
in
our
bps
schools.
I
encourage
any
boston
resident
to
take
a
look
at
these
postings,
especially
if
you're
out
of
work
due
to
covet,
and
you
need
an
opportunity,
we're
also
continuing
to
support
our
food
distribution
by
grassroots
organization,
our
community.
In
the
past
month,
the
boston
resiliency
fund
has
provided
new
grants,
totaling
over
half
a
million
dollars
to
25
different
local
organizations
throughout
the
city.
A
A
A
A
As
I've
said
in
the
past,
this
has
been
a
very
tough
time
for
our
immigrant
community
they've
been
disproportionately
hurt
by
the
pandemic,
and
many
of
our
immigrant
population
community
works
on
the
front
lines,
they're
also
dealing
with
attacks
and
stigmatization
from
the
white
house,
so
our
support
for
them
is
now
more
important.
Now
than
ever.
A
A
For
the
past
seven
years,
we've
marked
this
day
in
a
very
special
way.
The
mayor's
office
of
immigrant
advancement
has
partnered
partnered
with
project
citizenship.
It's
a
boston,
non-profit,
supported
by
by
the
legal
communities
and
other
donors
dedicated
to
helping
people
become
american
citizens.
Together,
we
hold
the
largest
annual
citizenship
workshop
in
new
england.
A
Typically
more
than
400
volunteers,
law,
students
and
attorneys
help
hundreds
of
immigrants
in
their
citizenship.
Application
for
free
because
of
this
pandemic
citizenship
day
must
be
held
virtually
this
year,
but
there's
an
even
more
serious
barrier
that
we
are
facing
now
starting
october,
2nd.
The
federal
government
is
raising
the
cost
of
application
fee
for
citizenship
from
725
to
1200,
and
it's
eliminating
a
fee
waiver
for
most
low-income
residents.
A
A
Think
about
who
the
asylum
seekers
are.
Someone
fleeing
persecution,
desperate
for
the
freedom
of
the
american
promise,
they've
already
paid
a
heavy
price,
a
heavy
price
to
leave
their
country
and
get
to
the
united
states,
and
they
won't
they
and
they
won't
even
get
a
fair
hearing
if
they
can't
pay.
A
A
A
They
have
been
sued,
they
have
sued
the
us
department
of
homeland
security
to
block
this
change,
and
I'm
very
proud
to
announce
today
that
the
administration
in
the
city
of
boston
is
leading
this
charge
to
fight
this.
Back
today,
at
the
federal
courthouse
here
in
boston,
we
submitted
an
imminucus
brief
in
support
of
project
citizenship,
lawsuit
in
33
american
cities
and
counties
in
the
united
states
conference
of
mayors
and
the
metropolitan
area
planning
council
have
signed
on
to
this
brief.
A
If
you
want
to
read
it
and
go
to
boston.gov,
we
are
calling
on
the
courts
to
stop
this
new
rule
because
it
harms
our
city
and
it
goes
against
the
values
that
america
was
founded
on.
Local
leaders
agree
here
in
massachusetts
and
all
across
the
country,
because
we
see
immigrants
becoming
americans
every
day
in
our
neighborhoods
and
contributing
to
our
great
country
melanie
torres
is
the
executive
executive
director
of
project
citizenship
is
here
to
share
more
about
their
work.
I
want
to
thank
you
melanie
and
ask
you
to
come
up
and
say
a
few
words.
B
Thank
you,
mayor
walsh,
and
thank
you
to
the
city
of
boston
and
the
mayor's
office
for
immigrant
advancement
for
your
support
and
partnership
with
project
citizenship
for
the
last
seven
years,
because
of
it
we've
been
able
to
help
thousands
of
immigrants
become
u.s
citizens
who
otherwise
may
not
have
been
able
to
afford
it.
We
are
so
grateful
to
work
in
such
a
welcoming
and
inclusive
city
and
to
work
so
closely
with
your
office
to
ensure
that
all
boston
residents
have
free
legal
help
and
access
to
our
services
to
help
with
their
citizenship
applications.
B
Her
citizenship
case
was
significantly
delayed
due
to
covid,
but
she
was
finally
sworn
in
in
august
as
a
u.s
citizen
just
in
time
to
register
for
her
mail-in
ballot
or
residents
like
amir,
a
young
roxbury
resident
from
ethiopia,
who
called
our
office
because
he
wanted
to
become
a
citizen.
So
he
could
pursue
his
college
education
in
the
united
states
and
become
eligible
for
federal
loans
to
help
him
get
through
school
amir's.
American
dream
is
to
get
his
degree
and
start
his
own
nonprofit
to
help
his
local
community
thrive.
B
Through
this
partnership,
citizenship
day
in
boston,
has
become
the
largest
annual
citizenship
workshop
in
new
england,
where
more
than
400
community
volunteers,
law,
students
and
pro
bono
attorneys
come
together
to
help
hundreds
of
immigrants
apply
for
citizenship
for
free
and,
as
the
mayor
said,
because
of
coronavirus.
We
couldn't
have
citizenship
day
in
person
this
year,
so
instead
we
held
a
series
of
virtual
workshops
to
help
people
file
their
citizenship
applications
and
because
of
the
uscis
free
fee
increases
and
the
elimination
of
the
fee
waiver.
B
B
That
is
why
these
fee
increases
are
so
destructive
and
why
project
citizenship
is
suing
the
federal
government.
This
rule
change
serves
as
a
wealth
test
for
citizenship
and
limits
access
to
the
full
rights
and
responsibilities
that
says
that
citizenship
affords
to
only
immigrants
with
wealth
or
financial
resources.
B
A
I
want
to
thank
melanie
for
for
the
work
that
she's
doing
here
in
the
city
of
boston,
we're
lucky
to
have
a
community
in
boston
that
sticks
together
and
fights
for
the
american
principles.
Just
so
people
get
a
a
kind
of
a
gauge.
29
of
the
residents
in
our
city
are
foreign
born.
We
we're
a
city
where
30
000
people
right
now
are
eligible
to
apply
for
citizenship.
A
When
people
make
their
commitment
to
be
a
citizen,
it
helps
our
city
and
our
country
naturalization
certainly
earns
the
ability
for
more
people
to
invest
in
our
communities
and
I'm
proud
to
say
that
on
may
22nd
1992,
my
mother
became
a
citizen.
She
was
sworn
in
at
the
state
house
and
we've
been
talking
about
that
and
she
is
a
very
proud
american
citizen
right
now.
A
But
what
we're
talking
about
is
deeper
than
economic
impacts.
It's
the
idea
that
our
country,
at
its
best,
represents
it's
really
important
that
we
continue
to
move
forward
here.
So
this
is
something
that
all
patriotic
americans
believe
the
idea
of
a
country
built
by
everyone
who
believes
in
it,
no
matter
their
race,
gender
or
place
of
birth
or
how
much
money
they
have
an
idea.
This
idea
is
worth
fighting
for
and
we're
never
going
to
give
up
on
that
fight.
A
I
want
to
close
on
with
one
other
announcement,
not
new
announcement,
but
I
talked
about
it
last
week,
we're
getting
close
to
the
2020
u.s
census
deadline,
which
is
going
to
be
september,
30th
that
response
period
was
cut
short
by
a
month.
It's
part
of
an
attempt
to
under
communities
of
color
immigrant
communities
in
diverse
cities
like
boston
massachusetts
under
counting
means
underfunding
here
in
boston
and
massachusetts.
A
A
You
pay
taxes,
you
pay
federal
taxes,
you
continue
to
contribute
to
your
economy
and
that
money
comes
back
here
into
into
boston
massachusetts
into
into
massachusetts.
Total
we're
asking
you
to
fill
out
the
census
form
to
make
sure
that
your
investments
that
you
pay
taxes
on
comes
back
here.
You
can
go
to
my2020census.gov
and
fill
out
the
form.
It's
simple
or
you
can
go
call
844
330-2020,
that's
844-330-2020
to
fill
out
the
census
form.
That's
my
formal
remarks
are
done.
I
have
some
questions
submitted
by
some
news.
A
I'm
going
to
do
these
and
I'm
going
to
open
up
for
questions
here
from
boston
25.
The
first
question
is:
what
is
my
reaction
to
dr
casilla
saying
the
boston
public
school
is
short
20,
000
chromebooks
and
that
the
re-entry
to
school
will
be
bumpy.
I
spoke
to
superintendent
casilius,
we're
in
a
meeting
today
talked
to
this
afternoon,
since
the
pandemic
has
started
we've
distributed
over
35
000
chromebooks
to
our
students.
A
Bp
bps
has
already
been
delivered,
5,
000
chromebooks
as
we're
speaking
right
now
here
I
just
got
an
update
that
we
have
more
chromebooks
that
are
going
to
be
delivered
here.
There
was
issues
around
getting
him
into
boston
and
I
believe,
within
the
next
24
hours,
we'll
have
all
kinds
of
chromebooks
here
in
the
city
of
boston.
A
It's
important
to
note
that
this
does
not
mean
that
there
are
20
000
students
in
need
of
chromebooks
for
the
start
of
schools.
Many
of
them
are
using
their
own
personal
devices
and,
as
a
matter
of
fact,
in
the
next
couple
days,
2600
more
chromebooks
are
being
in
the
process
of
being
delivered
to
families.
Right
now,
the
bps
team
is
assessing
the
need
that
exists
and
working
to
get
chromebooks
in
the
hands
of
any
students
and
families
without
properly
working
laptops
and
we're
also
replacing
some
of
the
old
chromebooks.
A
So
when
school
ended
last
year,
if
you
remember,
I
think
we
purchased
about
8
000
new
chromebooks.
We
got
them
out
to
the
students,
but
we
also
had
some
of
the
chromebooks
they
took
with
them
or
the
older
chromebooks.
So
we're
going
to
be
working
in
making
sure
that
we
we
replaced
those
another
question
from
boston
25.
What
is
my
reaction
when
I
hear
about
the
situation
like
in
attleboro,
where
one
sixth
student
put
the
entire
school
in
remote
learning,
concerns
or
plans?
A
A
If
a
student
feels
sick,
that
student
will
be
escorted
to
the
school's
medical
waiting
area
to
be
evaluated
by
the
school
nurse,
I
would
just
encourage
parents
in
boston
and
throughout
this
commonwealth,
if
your
son
or
daughter,
wake
up
and
they're
not
feeling
well,
your
best
bet
is
to
let
them
stay
home
and
remote
learn
that
day,
because
you
just
don't
know
if
a
non-covered
cause
cannot
be
ruled
out,
a
parent
or
garden
will
be
notified
and
the
student
will
be
dismissed
with
instruction
to
follow
up
on
on
with
the
student
doctor.
A
If
a
student
tests
positive,
the
state
department
of
public
health
guidance
is
to
test
all
close
contacts
for
covert
19.,
close
contacts
must
be
self-quarantined
for
14
days
after
their
last
exposure
to
a
person.
Who's
tested
positive,
regardless
of
the
close
contact
test
results
even
with
a
negative
test
results.
Those
closed
contacts
must
be
must
be
continued
to
self-quarantine
for
a
full
14
days,
as
the
virus
may
take
up
to
14
days
to
to
it
might
take
14
days
to
cause
illness.
C
Schools
yeah,
so
thank
you
mayor.
So
absolutely
I
mean,
as
the
mayor
played
it
out,
I
mean
I
think
the
the
important
message
of
it
is
if
young
people
don't
feel
well,
parents
should
keep
them
home
if
they
test
positive
they'll,
be
they'll,
get
the
care
necessary
and
get
referred
back
to.
Whatever
supports
may
be
needed
if
they
need
to
see
a
primary
care
physician
or
be
supported
through
the
nurse
within
that
school
building,
and
then
students
are
going
as
close
contacts.
C
Teachers,
staff
and
students
would
have
to
quarantine
for
that
14
days,
as
the
mayor
pointed
out,
the
one
thing
I'll
also
point
out
is
that
there
is
access
to
emergency
testing
that
the
state
is
making
available
in
partnership
with
local
school
districts.
If
there
is
an
outbreak
that
happens,
there'll
be
a
mobile
testing
option.
That'll
come
to
a
school
to
be
able
to
test
folks
where
there
might
be
a
concern.
A
Thank
you,
maddie,
and
with
that
I
will
open
up
the
questions.
If
there
are.
C
A
The
question
the
question
is
mary
martino's
answer
it.
I've
mentioned
that
a
lot
of
the
tests
that
have
tested
positive
for
coronavirus
have
been
younger
and
what's
kind
of
the
the
impetus
around
that.
C
C
A
lot
of
that
has
to
do
with
folks
feeling,
like
you
know,
the
severe
impact
is
really
for
those
who
are
mostly
older,
and
so
we
do
think
that
that
messaging
needs
to
be
reinforced.
Facial
covering
social,
distancing,
washing
your
hands
really
doing
everything
you
can
to
keep
yourself
safe
and
not
congregating,
and
unfortunately
I
guess
it's
fortunately
for
young
people.
C
They
don't
have
a
severe
impact
mostly,
but
that
doesn't
mean
those
around
them
might
not
have
a
severe
impact,
or
that
might
not
mean
that
someone
who's
young
that
maybe
is
dealing
with
other
issues
like
asthma,
heart
disease
or
obesity-
might
not
have
that
severe
impact.
So
we're
seeing
younger
people
test
positive,
which
means
you
know,
there's
less
precautions
being
taken
by
younger
people,
and
we
just
hope,
they'll
hear
that
message
and
follow
some
of
those
guidelines.
C
No,
it's
not
like
we're
seeing
clusters
of
young
people
it's
just
as
we
look
at
the
data
we're
seeing
that
that
age
under
29
we're
seeing
a
larger
chunk
than
we
had
been
seeing
earlier
during
the
coronavirus.
So
it's
not
that
specific
clusters
are
being
created,
but
we
definitely
see
it
trending
much
younger,
which
means
we
just
need
to
take
more
precautions
and
really
heed
the
guidance
to
keep
everyone
safe.