Coronavirus field hospital at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to stop accepting patients
A coronavirus field hospital at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center will begin the process of closing down as health officials continue to observe a decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations, Gov. Charlie Baker said on Tuesday.
The 1,000-bed field hospital, which came online in early April ahead of an anticipated surge in patients, will no longer be accepting new coronavirus admissions, as officials overseeing the operation have determined the site is “no longer necessary,” Baker said.
The facility, dubbed “Boston Hope," will stay online until all patients are safely discharged, Baker said.
“Over the past several weeks, Boston Hope has treated more than 700 COVID-19 patients on the hospital side and also served as a respite site for homeless and housing insecure folks on the other side,” Baker said. “We’re grateful for the partnership and coordination that went to standing up this facility."
Many of the states field hospitals have been decommissioned or are in the process of shutting down. The field hospital constructed in the gymnasium at Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne closed last week without seeing even a single coronavirus patient, according to the Cape Cod Times.
On May 15, Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. announced the DCU Center field hospital would be decommissioned as well.
Baker on Tuesday said public health officials continue to see a decline in several key metrics vital in the fight against the virus, including the number of new hospitalizations, the rate of positive cases and ICU admissions.
Baker added that Massachusetts has gotten beyond the so-called surge, despite concerns about a ‘second wave’ of infections as restrictions begin to lift.
“We’ve talked a lot about preparing for and dealing with the surge, which is now something that, thanks to a lot of work by a lot of people, is behind us," he said. "And as a result of that many of the field hospitals that we set up around the state to add beds and reduce strain on hospitals have begun to close.”