Lowell Field Hospital To Close

Another of the makeshift field hospitals developed to treat a surge of COVID-19 patients plans to soon shut down.

Lowell General Hospital announced Tuesday its additional space at UMass Lowell's Campus Recreation Center is no longer required and "will be returned to the university in the coming days."

The hospital said its number of COVID-19 patients receiving inpatient care "has leveled off," but it "continues to see volumes well beyond its normal critical care capacity." "

We are encouraged that our hospital and region have not experienced the worst-case scenario that would have required use of the alternative care space, but the pandemic in the Merrimack Valley is far from over," Lowell General CEO Jody White said in a statement.

Worcester City Manager Ed Augustus said Monday he expected the field hospital at the DCU Center would come offline this week, and on May 7 the field hospital at Joint Base Cape Cod closed before ever hosting a patient.