New Mass. Law Requires Greater COVID-19 Reporting

Elder care facilities in Massachusetts will have to make daily reports on their COVID-19 cases and a task force will be formed to recommend ways to address health disparities during the pandemic, under a law Gov. Charlie Baker signed Sunday night.

The task force has until Aug. 1 to make a report.

The law also spells out COVID-19 reporting requirements for the Department of Public Health, which has been publishing data on the infectious disease online daily.

The DPH's reports will now also need to include information on the presence of COVID-19 in correctional institutions and elder care facilities, including nursing homes, the soldiers' homes in Chelsea and Holyoke, elderly housing, and assisted living facilities.

The bill landed on Baker's desk May 28, after the House and Senate traded multiple amendments.