COVID-19 Death Toll Rises To 11 In Massachusetts, Harvard University President Tests Positive

Lawrence Bacow speaks after being introduced Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018, in Cambridge, Mass., as the 29th president of Harvard University.

Emily Schario is a producer in the WGBH Studio at the Boston Public Library, where she produces radio and digital broadcasts about the Boston community and beyond. Before joining WGBH, Emily was the news editor for her college newspaper and interned at WBUR’s On Point Radio. She has a degree in mediated communication and English literature from Stonehill College.

March 24, 2020

The coronavirus death toll reached 11 in Massachusetts on Tuesday, up from nine on Monday. The latest deaths were two females, one in her 80s from Middlesex Country and one in her 60s from Berkshire country. Both were hospitalized and had underlying health conditions.

So far, 1159 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Massachusetts. That's up from 777 the day before.

The president of Harvard University, Lawrence Bacow, and his wife, Adele Fleet, both tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. In a letter to the Harvard community, Bacow said he and his wife were experiencing symptoms of coughing, followed by fevers, chills, and muscle aches on Sunday. The couple contacted their doctors Monday and received a test the same day. Bacow and his wife have been working from home and limiting their contact with others since March 14. The couple does not know how they contracted the virus.

Gov. Charlie Baker expressed frustration with the failure of the U.S. Senate to agree on an aid package. He called on Congress to come to a deal, reminding them that "the legislation that’s in front of the Senate went through a whole series of bipartisan — that means Republican and Democrat — decision makers over the course of the past two weeks in both the House and the Senate."

A handful of district attorneys and advocates have also been calling for the release of certain inmates to protect them from the spread of COVID-19. Already, the Massachusetts Department of Correction has already announced at least one inmate has tested positive for the disease.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.