The Baystate Health system has, to date, tested 600 people for COVID-19. Among them, 39 people tested positive, 271 tested negative and 290 tests were still pending as of Sunday morning.

Baystate has four hospitals: Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield; Baystate Medical Center in Springfield; Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield; and Baystate Wing Hospital in Palmer. The numbers provided by Baystate are cumulative.

Last week, a Baystate Health spokesperson said the hospital first tests people presenting with symptoms for the flu and other viruses, then tests for COVID-19. It takes three to four days to get the COVID-19 results.

Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield has been keeping people who are tested and presenting with symptoms in a special wing. Then, if a test comes back positive, that person is transferred to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, which has set up a triage unit outside of its emergency room. People who test positive are being isolated in a special wing.

Hospital officials have said depending on how sick people are, they either stay in the hospital or go home and self-quarantine to recover.

Approximately 200 of Baystate Health’s 12,000 employees are now in quarantine because they either had a respiratory illness or had a possible exposure to the virus, President and CEO Mark Keroack said this week.

“All of this will be made much better if we had readily available, quick-turnaround testing as well as more plentiful supplies to protect our employees,” Keroack said.

Gov. Charlie Baker said this week that there will be more suspected cases in Massachusetts because more tests are being done. However, it doesn’t mean people have the disease, so he said it’s a good thing more people are being tested.

Baker activated the state’s National Guard Friday to help the coronavirus outbreak. It will currently provide logistical support and assistance to help keep communities and their residents safe.

On Thursday,  the state saw its biggest one-day spike in cases, which rose from 72 to 328. 

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is continually updating its website with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state. Visit the agency at: bit.ly/2xdIgeS

Reach Anita Fritz at
413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.