MA Coronavirus: Mask Requirements — And Penalties — Growing

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 104 new coronavirus deaths Monday, bringing the state's death toll to 3,003. The state also confirmed an additional 1,524 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 56,462. There were 8,787 new tests reported, bringing the number of tests conducted to 244,887.

The state has flattened the curve, Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday, hours before the Department of Public Health revealed the lowest death and case totals in days. But Baker also warned of a long road ahead. While Baker said a decision on beginning to reopen Massachusetts by May 4 will come later this week, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh didn't wait: "I can tell you right now Boston will not reopen on May 4."

A $300 fine is possible for those who "willfully refuse to comply" with a new Somerville order requiring that face coverings be worn at all times in public. The order applies to anyone age 2 or older when in any public indoor or outdoor space. For Cambridge, a similar order will be in effect for those over the age of 5. While several cities and towns have required face coverings in public stores and buildings, only Brookline has instituted such a rule for being outside prior to this week.

JetBlue passengers will soon have to cover their faces during travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Logan Airport's largest carrier said beginning on Monday, May 4 customers will be required to have a covering over their nose and mouth during check-in, boarding and the entire flight. JetBlue crews have already been wearing masks.

Quest Diagnostics, whose main local lab is in Marlborough, is offering a $119 antibody test to almost anyone who wants one. The test looks for antibodies produced during the immune system response to the COVID-19 infection, but serological test do not detect coronavirus itself, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

A Beverly nursing home that has already been criticized by patients' families for its coronavirus response is understaffed but continues to take on new patients. In interviews and email exchanges, patients' family members and workers at CareOne at Essex Park in Beverly say the facility has downplayed how hard the new coronavirus has hit the facility, and that about 40 people have died after contracting the virus at the nursing home. They also describe conditions where the already short staff are being forced to work even after they begin to show COVID-19 symptoms.

The company that has been handling a majority of coronavirus testing in Massachusetts is now offering a new kind of test to the public that may determine if a person had COVID-19. But health officials — and even Gov. Charlie Baker — warn that the testing is not accurate enough yet.Also, Somerville announced expanding testing options for the coronavirus. This will happen in three phases — drive-thru testing at Somerville Hospital is opening to non-Cambridge Health Alliance patients, followed by walk-ups and bicyclists in the Crown Street parking lot and the opening of a satellite location in East Somerville.