Department of Public Health

All indoor ice rinks and ice skating facilities in Massachusetts are prohibited from operating for the next two weeks due to rising coronavirus cases connected to indoor ice hockey, the state’s Department of Public Health announced Thursday night. Officials say the new public health order is in response to multiple COVID-19 clusters occurring at rinks throughout the state following...

Massachusetts’ latest weekly data on the coronavirus pandemic, including the updated community-level risk assessment map, shows 63 communities considered at the highest risk for transmitting COVID-19, a new high and an increase of 23 since last week. For the first time since introducing the map, the commonwealth itself has climbed into the highest risk level. The data, from the Department…

The Department of Public Health Friday released guidance and recommendations for organized sports, including for youth and adult club sports and private leagues. It’s intended to guide local health departments, municipalities and league organizers to assess the risk of contracting COVID-19. The department said they will make another determination in the Fall or early Winter. “The COVID-19 pandemic does...

Health officials said there has been an unusually high number of infections caused by bacteria in the salt or brackish water (a mix of salt and fresh water) along Long Island Sound.

The state Department of Public Health issued a COVID-19 alert statewide for the Labor Day weekend with new concerns that infection of the virus could spread if the proper precautions and safety measures are not taken, according to a release from the department.

The Department of Public Health continues to investigate a COVID-19 outbreak at a nursing home in Norwich. According to DPH, as of last Thursday 13 residents and two staff members at Three Rivers Healthcare tested positive for the virus. Several people remain hospitalized and one person has since died. “I know that the infection is continuing to grow in that…

Family with loved ones at a Norwich nursing home that has experienced a coronavirus outbreak are concerned about their health.

A Connecticut resident has tested positive for West Nile Virus, marking the first human case in the state this year. State Dept. of Public Health officials said the person who tested positive for West Nile Virus is between 40 and 49 years old and became ill during the second week of July. Authorities said laboratory tests confirmed the presence of…

Department of Social Services Commissioner Deidre Gifford will replace Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell as head of the Department of Public Health.

Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday that the latest models show that the coronavirus surge is expected to hit Massachusetts in the next two to three weeks, sometime between April 7 and April 17. “This isn’t an exact science, but generally speaking, most of the calculations that are out there with respect to Massachusetts, both some of the ones we’ve done…

Nine more people with the new coronavirus have died in Massachusetts as of Saturday, pushing the total number of deaths in the state to 44. State health officials reported a total of 4,257 coronavirus cases, an increase of 1,017 from Friday’s total of 3,240 and the biggest single-day rise for the state. Gov. Charlie Baker has been cautioning that the…

UConn Health is ramping up its efforts to help detect the coronavirus by offering drive-thru sampling for COVID19. The health organization is looking to help with the demand of COVID-19 testing by offering to collect samples from those who believe they have symptoms of the disease, and who have a prescription from their doctor. UConn Health is strongly encouraging patients…

UConn Health is now offering drive thru testing to help state efforts to ramp up coronavirus testing, however there are some requirements to know about.

Cameras inside the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery caught on video the massive blasts early June 21 from just yards away.

To help keep you informed on the most shared and talked about stories, each Saturday and Sunday we’ll revisit five stories from the previous week, including the most recent updates.

Six more Connecticut residents have reported vaping related lung injuries, public health officials said Friday.

A Connecticut couple seeking to stop the public release of additional information about schools’ immunization rates is asking the Department of Public Health to expedite its decision.

A Connecticut resident has died after being hospitalized with a vaping related lung injury, public health officials said Thursday.

The state Department of Public Health said the patient was between 30-39 years old and died last week while being treated for multiple medical conditions believed linked to vaping.

What is the EEE virus that you’ve heard so much about the last few months? EEE stands for the Eastern Equine Encephanitis virus, which can be transmitted to humans from an infected mosquito.