Boston Field Hospital To Stop Accepting COVID-19 Patients

With public health data indicating "that we are trending in the right direction" in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday that the 1,000-bed field hospital set up last month at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center "is no longer necessary" and will stop accepting new patients.

The BCEC field hospital, known as Boston Hope, was opened April 10 as the state was bracing for the surge in COVID-19 patients and was preparing for the possibility that the region's hospitals would become overwhelmed by infected patients. The site also treated homeless patients and served as a respite site run by Health Care for the Homeless.

Baker said Tuesday that the half of Boston Hope run by Partners HealthCare treated about 700 COVID-19 patients and will remain operational until each of its current patients is discharged. The governor said the 1,000-bed makeshift hospital will remain at the BCEC through the summer "if we need it."

A field hospital established on Cape Cod closed earlier this month before treating a patient, and field hospitals in Worcester and Lowell have also been phased out.