First coronavirus case confirmed in Massachusetts
On Feb. 1, the first case of the 2019 novel coronavirus was confirmed in Massachusetts. The man, and a resident of Boston in his late 20s, recently traveled to Wuhan, the capital city of China’s Hubei province. Upon returning to the U.S., he informed local officials and has since been isolated. According to Rita Nives, the interim executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, the UMass Boston student is “doing well” as of Feb. 3. The risk of contracting the coronavirus in Massachusetts remains low, and officials have noted that there is currently a higher risk of catching the flu than the coronavirus.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley delivers third party response to the State of the Union
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ seventh district surrounding the greater Boston area, boycotted President Trump’s State of the Union address last Tuesday night. She issued the Working Families Party’s response during which she spoke of her mother’s activism, an increase in activism around the country and of the need for a united front in progressive policy. The freshman congresswoman mentioned Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and People’s Justice Guarantee as public policy goals ending the speech with a message for President Trump: “The state of our movement is strong.”
“Detroit Red” World Premiere in Boston from February 1 to February 16
“Detroit Red,” a play written about Malcolm X Shabazz’s early life in Boston and Roxbury, premiered on Feb. 1. The play depicts Malcolm’s journey from an eager, hardworking 19 year old to a sharp young man navigating street life, criminal activity and hustling. Playwright Will Power brings one of Malcolm’s many identities to life with poetry and power, focusing on his formative years and the equally formative experiences of racism, sexuality and injustice, among others. The play will be showing through Feb. 16 at Emerson College’s Paramount Center. For more information, visit the ArtsEmerson website at artsemerson.org.
