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Massachusetts Health Boards Overwhelmed, Unready to Protect Workers By Shannon Iriarte, Shwetha Surendran and Maggie Mulvihill | May 14, 2021 With federal regulators missing from the field and state leaders scrambling to manage the COVID-19 crisis, Massachusetts’ 351 overtaxed local boards of health were unwittingly thrust into a new role last year – overseers of workplace safety. The challenge created by forcing that responsibility on the municipal agencies, some staffed with only one or two people, may have contributed to at least one chairman’s heart attack and highlighted the fragility of the workplace-safety landscape in Massachusetts. “It’s brutal. It’s brutal. It’s off the charts,” said Michael R. Hugo, government affairs director for the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards. “There is so much egregious behavior going on by businesses that nobody has time to do it all.” ....
Walmart Sales Soared, Essential Workers Got Scant Protection May 14, 2021 COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Sandra Kunz had been worried for her safety while working as a cashier at a Walmart in Aurora, Colorado, during the pandemic, said her sister, Paula Spellman. The 72-year-old had lung disease, Spellman said. She was “uncomfortable because so many people (were) coming in with coughs.” But Kunz didn’t complain to the government agency tasked with protecting workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “Sandy’s not a complainer,” Spellman said. “She went out and just purchased her own mask and her own gloves.” It wasn’t enough. On April 20, 2020, Kunz died from COVID-19 following an outbreak linked to the Aurora Walmart. At least 18 employees got sick and one other worker at Walmart, Lupe Aguilar, died. So did Kunz’s husband, Gustavous, who Spellman said fell ill after she did. ....
Walmart sales soared, essential workers got scant protection by Gracie Todd, Molly Castle Work, Natalie Drum, Nick Mcmillan, Kara Newhouse, Jazmyn Gray, Aneurin Canham Clyne, Jack Rasiel, Sahana Jayaraman And Haley Chi-sing/the Howard Center For Investigative Journalism, The Associated Press Posted May 12, 2021 12:32 pm EDT Last Updated May 12, 2021 at 12:44 pm EDT COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Sandra Kunz had been worried for her safety while working as a cashier at a Walmart in Aurora, Colorado, during the pandemic, said her sister, Paula Spellman. The 72-year-old had lung disease, Spellman said. She was “uncomfortable because so many people (were) coming in with coughs.” ....
Mass. health boards overwhelmed, unready to protect workers Mass. health boards overwhelmed, unready to protect workers SHANNON IRIARTE, SHWETHA SURENDRAN AND MAGGIE MULVIHILL/The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism , The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism May 12, 2021 FacebookTwitterEmail BOSTON (AP) With federal regulators missing from the field and state leaders scrambling to manage the COVID-19 crisis, Massachusetts’ 351 overtaxed local boards of health were unwittingly thrust into a new role last year overseers of workplace safety. The challenge created by forcing that responsibility on the municipal agencies, some staffed with only one or two people, may have contributed to at least one chairman’s heart attack and highlighted the fragility of the workplace-safety landscape in Massachusetts. ....