DCU Center Coronavirus Field Hospital Reopening: Gov. Baker

WORCESTER, MA — The field hospital at Worcester's DCU Center will reopen in December to house coronavirus patients, an indication that increasing cases are close to overwhelming local hospitals.

The DCU Center hospital will reopen in the first week of December, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Friday. The hospital will have capacity for 240 patients. The first iteration of the hospital had 250 beds.

The field hospital initially opened in early April as a place for people to recover from coronavirus. The hospital helped clear beds at Worcester-area hospitals for patients with higher medical needs.

The DCU Center facility was closed on May 18, but the hospital was kept ready in case of a resurgence in cases.

Coronavirus began roaring back in the Worcester area in August after a relatively calm summer. On Thursday, city officials announced that cases had about doubled within one week, and that cases inside UMass Memorial and St. Vincent hospitals were on the rise.

"Worcester has what I'd describe as the biggest issue at the moment — they’re basically full," Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday announcing the DCU Center reopening. "We’ll likely set up others, but we want to do it on a staged basis while collaborating with hospitals in local communities."

Cases have also been rising in surrounding towns like Shrewsbury, Grafton and Millbury. And on Thursday, the Worcester County towns of Uxbridge and Milford were added to the state's list of high-risk communities.