Page 12 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 16, 2020 Gallery@57 features line of facemasks by Carolina Hernandez T he Gallery@57 is currently featuring designer Carolina Hernandez and her distinctive line of facemasks. Hernandez’s primary focus as an artist has been in the world of fashion design (couture, ready to wear garments, avant-garde designs and costume masterpieces). Her label, Veteran Couture, was inspired by her service in the U.S. Navy. In an interview in Sheeba Magazine she described her label as “the yin and yang: the analytical and structured side of military service is the counterbalance to the creative and artistic side of fashion.” Her designs blend her passions, and she calls them “wearable, functional, creative artwork.” Hernandez learned to sew Carolina Hernandez as a young woman in Mexico and was inspired by her grandmothers and her mother early on. Her goal of one day becoming a fashion designer continued, eventually leading her to The Art Institute of California – San Diego after her naval service was completed. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design and she continues to be a naval reservist. She has participated in fashion shows supporting nonprofit organizations bringing awareness to the issues of human trafficking and domestic violence. Hernandez is also busy promoting and supporting entrepreneur veterans, hoping her story can inspire others to find the best version of themselves. Her work can be seen at Veteran Couture, Inc. on Facebook, and her facemasks are currently on sale at The Gallery@57 in Malden. XpresSpa Group begins construction of XpresCheck COVID-19 testing facility at Logan Airport I n October, XpresSpa Group, Inc., a health and wellness company, announced that it has started construction on an XpresCheck COVID-19 testing site at Boston Logan International Airport that is expected to be fully operational by November. This is a modular constructed testing facility within the International Arrival area of pre-security Terminal E that is expected to host seven separate testing rooms with an anticipated capacity to administer more than 400 tests per day. COVID-19 testing options will include a rapid molecular COVID-19 test, the polymerase chain reaction test and the blood antibody test. All three tests are similarly offered at the XpresCheck locations in JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. “We are eager to launch XpresCheck at Boston Logan International Airport, which will be our third COVID-19 testing facility this fall. We believe that our current presence in JFK and Newark, and upcoming expansion to Logan enables us to play an important role in supporting the return of domestic and international air travel to pre-pandemic levels by making sure both airport employees and travelers feel safe and confident when they come to the airport,” said XpresSpa Group CEO Doug Satzman. “As previously indicated, our intention is to continue XpresCheck’s national expansion and we remain in active discussions with additional airports for further development of this concept.” Governor announces COVID-19 measures in place to ensure winter readiness O n October 13 the Baker-Polito Administration provided an update on a series of initiatives that will keep supporting the residents of the Commonwealth to stop the spread of COVID-19 and ensure the state’s readiness status heading into the fall and winter. Led by the COVID-19 Command Center, the Administration outlined interdepartmental programs that have been built or expanded since the start of the pandemic in March, all of which strengthen the Commonwealth’s ability and capacity to respond if COVID cases in Massachusetts increase. This includes: • One of the most robust testing networks in the nation • A first-in-class contact tracing network • Investments and strengthened initiatives to provide appropriate care for older adults and staff at Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCF) • Hospital preparedness plans • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stockpile investments • Health and Safety requirements to protect teachers and students as schools reopen • A cautious, phased approach to resume business activity Testing Since the start of the pandemic, approximately 4.8 million tests have been administered to more than 2.4 million residents in Massachusetts. Growing steadily from approximately 2,000 tests per day in March to about 13,000 a day in May, today approximately 65,000 tests are administered every day. A key driver in this success has been the Stop the Spread initiative, which has sites in 18 of the highest-risk communities. On October 13 the Administration announced that the Stop the Spread initiative has been extended through December. As part of its readiness, the state now has the in-state lab capacity to process more than 100,000 tests per day if demand warrants. This level of testing, which has an average turnaround time of 1.8 days, is part of a strong readiness foundation to identify COVID, stop the spread and inform policy through data analysis. Contact tracing In April – responding quickly to the increasing number of cases – the Commonwealth established the Contact Tracing Collaborative (CTC), a collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), local boards of health and Partners in Health. Today, this network includes just less than 2,000 workers who maintain regular connection with and support for individuals who are isolated in quarantine. A team of epidemiologists was recently added to CTC to investigate cases, identify the source of transmission and catch clusters early. To date, more than 100,000 people have been contacted. Hospital readiness Hospitals are now required to continue adherence to the policies put in place upon reopening to ensure continued readiness, including regarding PPE inventories, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nursing staffing ratios, and strictly ensuring sufficient inpatient capacity. Massachusetts hospitals have approximately 50 percent ICU capacity available, plus additional beds can be made available by converting medical or surgical beds through established and proven procedures. Further, temporary spaces can be reused. In the spring, the state set up five alternative medical sites. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is prepared to rapidly reinstate these if necessary. LTCF readiness Caring for older adults in LTCF has been a priority since the earliest days of the pandemic. Early on, the state provided approximately 2.8 million pieces of PPE to nursing homes and opened dedicated COVID isolation spaces and facilities to safely cohort and protect residents and staff and help stop the spread. An additional measure to protect staff and residents: The state implemented a surveillance testing program ahead of federal guidance. From July 1 to October 8, approximately 280,000 state-financed tests for residents and staff have occurred. The Commonwealth has retained clinical rapid response teams if severe staffing shortages occur. The latest set of reforms, which include more than $400 million in new funding for infection control and staffing, build on the legislatively authorized Long Term Care Facility Commission’s report. PPE stockpile In the early days of the pandemic, the global supply chain struggled to deliver critical PPE. Massachusetts pursued every piece of it and partnered with local manufacturers, which pivoted operations to support essential workers in a time of need. The Commonwealth has added millions of pieces of PPE to the state stockpile over the last several months with sufficient material to support medical institutions if their supplies run low through 2021. In addition to masks, gowns, gloves and other PPE, the stockpile includes approximately 1,200 ventilators, almost double the number on hand in the spring. For perspective, the peak number of ICU patients was 1,085 in April. K-12 After extensive consultation with infectious disease physicians and pediatricians, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provided districts with detailed guidance on how to develop plans for safely delivering in-person instruction. The guidance was endorsed by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. DPH developed town-by-town health metrics to guide school districts on whether to be fully in-person, hybrid or remote, based on three weeks of community-wide data. DPH has also made available rapid response mobile testing for any school that experiences a COVID cluster. To help districts bring their children back to school, Governor Charlie Baker allocated nearly $1 billion to municipalities and school districts, through formula distributions of COVID Relief Funds and targeted grants, providing students with access to computers and connectivity. In collaboration with legislative leaders, the Administration has committed to increasing Chapter 70 school aid – adjusting for inflation and enrollment – to ensure stable funding even in this challenging economic and fiscal climate.
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