2 Mass. communities issue shelter-in-place orders as coronavirus cases continue to climb – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

BOSTON (WHDH) – Two Massachusetts communities have issued shelter-in-place orders as coronavirus cases in the Bay State jump above 600.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced Saturday that five people have died from the coronavirus and that there are 646 confirmed cases.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction reported that three inmates and one officer at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater have tested positive for the coronavirus.

A Boston police officer has also tested positive. Officials say the officer will stay home until medically cleared for work.

Gov. Charlie Baker stressed that the state is focused on more testing.

“As we test more, we are going to find more people who are infected,” he said. “That will lead to more aggressive approaches to deal with tracing and isolation.”

Nantucket and Provincetown declared a shelter-in-place order, which begins Monday at 5 p.m.

“A lot of people with second homes there have been going there,” Baker said about Nantucket. “We would prefer they not do that; they stay on the mainland and don’t create additional issues for those islands at a point and time when they don’t have the same level of service capacity they typically have in the summer.”

Both communities stressed that this is not a lockdown and grocery stores, pharmacies and restaurants offering takeout will remain open.

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