Axios Boston

January 09, 2023
It's Monday. Don't forget your mask.
Today's weather: Cloudy, but clearing. High around 40°.
Situational awareness: The Patriots lost to the Bills yesterday, ending their hopes of making the playoffs.
Today's newsletter is 556 words — a 2-minute read.
1 big thing: COVID's back, baby
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
A new wave of COVID-19 is hitting Boston nearly three years after the start of the pandemic.
Why it matters: Boston officials are asking people to mask up, maintain social distancing and avoid large crowds while the spread is still high.
- UMass Boston announced it would reinstate its indoor mask mandate starting today. Students and faculty are also required to mask up in crowded outdoor settings.
Driving the news: Suffolk County is now experiencing high community spread of COVID-19, according to the CDC.
- Dec. 28 through Jan. 4, Boston hospitals reported 306 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, a 41% increase from two weeks before, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
Poop stats: The pandemic proof is in the pudding, or in this case, in the human waste processed by the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.
- As of Dec. 29, viral concentration in Suffolk County's wastewater was up 42% over the previous week and 116% over the last two weeks.
What they're saying: “We should all be masking indoors, staying home when sick and testing for COVID-19," Health Commissioner Dr. Bisola Ojikutu said in a statement.
- Ojikutu said the numbers speak for themselves, despite the fact that some people may have “pandemic fatigue.”
Details: Boston is still offering COVID-19 vaccines, booster shots, flu shots or PCR tests at several sites throughout the city.
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2. 👩⚕️Mass. insurance costs rising

The cost of monthly health care coverage in Massachusetts is increasing, but not as rapidly as other costs in the current inflation economy.
Driving the news: A report from ValuePenguin lists the projected average monthly cost of a silver insurance plan for a 40-year-old applicant as $553 for 2023.
- That's up from $535 in 2022, a 3.36% increase.
Big picture: The state's health insurance cost climb is just under the national average of 3.5%.
- Costs in Georgia are predicted to skyrocket year over year, rising 20% from 2022.
- Virginia could see the biggest cost cut for insurance, at 17%.
3. 🔙 Back that Mass. Up: News from around the commonwealth
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Gov. Maura Healey opened up to the Globe's Yvonne Abraham about her personal life and partner of nearly two years. (Globe)
The husband of a missing Cohasset woman has ben arrested for misleading police in the investigation. (NBC 10)
A swastika was found painted on a sidewalk in Swampscott. (Herald)
Former Gov. Charlie Baker's former top aide opines on the legacy of the Baker administration. (Commonwealth)
4. Depressing Zillow of the Week: governor's edition
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Since the commonwealth does not provide a governor's mansion for her excellency, Gov. Maura Healey may be in the market for one.
- On top of her new $222,000 salary, Healey gets a $65,000 annual housing stipend. That'll be enough for a mansion near the State House, right?
There's no potential governor's mansion on the market more appropriate than this actual former governor's townhouse, once home to Gov. Alvan Fuller almost a century ago.
- The 123-year-old row house has three beds, four bathrooms and 14-foot ceilings spread over 4,700 square feet.
- It's certainly opulent, but maybe a bit too old-school-fancy for the people's lawyer-turned-governor.
She couldn't afford it on her salary anyway.
- The townhouse is $13.5 million with a nearly $2,500 monthly HOA fee.
- Zillow pegs the monthly cost of the place at just under $80,000. That's over three times Healey's new monthly salary.
More sensible options include this $560,000, 638-square-foot, one-bedroom condo on Clarendon Street or this itty-bitty studio rental on Newbury Street that's somehow less than $2,000 a month.
Deehan saw M3gan and it was so much better than expected. Don't let the trailer dissuade you from this fun and funny little horror flick.
Steph is soaking in some West Coast sun and eating tacos. Catch you next week!
This newsletter was edited by Fadel Allassan and copy edited by James Farrell.
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