Framingham Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 16, Cases Near 700

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham officials announced a smaller rise in coronavirus cases on Monday, plus two new coronavirus deaths. So far during the pandemic, 16 city residents have died.

With the addition of 12 new cases on Monday, Framingham's total reached 697. There are now 496 active cases in the city after 84 people recovered. At Framingham Union Hospital, 52 people are being treated for coronavirus, including 16 people in intensive care.

Over the weekend, city officials announced the National Guard will be dispatched to senior care facilities across Framingham to test residents and staff for coronavirus. The testing comes as coronavirus outbreaks have hit at least five long-term care facilities in the city.

The National Guard has been on call to conduct testing at long-term care facilities across the state. The Mary Ann Morse Healthcare Center in Natick, for example, received a round of testing on April 16 — 75 residents and 36 staff wound up testing positive, and 17 have died.

According to city figures, the following senior care facilities have confirmed coronavirus cases:

• Carlyle House — 10 to 30 cases
• Casa de Ramana — more than 30 cases
• Oak Knoll — less than 10 cases
• St. Patrick's Manor — more than 30 cases

The state Department of Public Health has also reported less than 10 cases at the Bethany Health Care Center.

State officials activated the National Guard to conduct testing at long-term care facilities at the beginning of April following a rash of deaths at the solider's homes in Holyoke and Chelsea. To date, 1,698 of the state's 3,003 coronavirus deaths have been in residents of long-term care facilities.