Baker: Lowell Field Hospital Will Be 'Standing Down' As COVID Cases Decline, Worcester's To Stay Open
BOSTON (CBS) -- As coronavirus cases continue to subside in Massachusetts, it looks like the state will be winding down operations at one of two field hospitals.
"I believe the Lowell site is standing down this week," Gov. Charlie Baker said at a news conference on Thursday.
The site on the campus of UMass Lowell, run by Lowell General Hospital, reopened as a state field hospital for the second time in early January amid a surge in cases.
Worcester's field hospital at the DCU Center, which opened for the second time in December, will not be closing soon, the governor said. There are currently between 40 and 50 patients there, Baker said.
"It's been a tremendous asset to people in central Mass. and in the South Coast, and I would expect that the Worcester site will probably stay with us for a while," he said.
There are 1,635 people currently hospitalized for a coronavirus-related illness throughout Massachusetts.