Coronavirus Update: Boston Globe Runs 16-Page Obituary As Massachusetts Becomes New Hot Spot

Boston Globe's printed issue Sunday (April 19) carried no less than 16 pages for the obituaries, reflecting the staggering death toll from the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the Boston area and Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Sunday that the state is experiencing "the middle of the surge."

The obituaries were printed on 12 pages on the week earlier (April 11), while there were nine pages of death notices on its April 5 issue. Under normal circumstances, the death notices for the Sunday edition usually fill up four to five pages only.

Most of the latest death notices mentioned that the departed battled with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Death notices are paid for by surviving families or funeral services from all around Massachusetts and nearby states, as well as those in foreign countries.

"We’re still very much focused on Boston and across Massachusetts, where the epidemic’s continued to spread," White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said in the show "Face the Nation."

During a press briefing at the White House over the weekend, Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the task force, confirmed that they are carefully watching Boston metro, along with Chicago and Philadelphia.

As of April 19, Massachusetts had more than 38,000 coronavirus cases and over 1,700 deaths. It's the third state behind New York and New Jersey with the highest number of coronavirus cases.

To flatten the curve, the state has strategically hired contract tracers to look for and advise those who may have been in contact with a positive case. According to reports, the contract tracers have reached out to 765 individuals who have tested positive and identified at least 1,000 other people they've been in close contact with to inform them to self-quarantine or get tested.

Residents of Chelsea, one of the hardest-hit areas in Boston, have been asked to strictly stay at home as the rate of infection in this area is four times higher statewide. The densely populated city has over 40,000 residents, and many of them work as essential services store clerks.

Massachusetts also opened two COVID-19 field hospitals Monday to add to the two other field hospitals which have been operating with 1,000-bed capacity. A fifth facility is expected to be operational within the week.