Updated at 1:12 p.m.
Gov. Charlie Baker said at his daily press briefing Wednesday that more than 650,000 people in Massachusetts have applied for traditional unemployment since the coronavirus crisis began, and the state is paying unemployment benefits to over 400,000 people.
He said the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has increased its capacity to help take on the new demand.
"In March, DUA had a 50-person call center," he said. "Today, they have 1,200 people working in a call center that operates remotely to help people work their way through the application process."
He said the DUA will continue to work overtime to help those who need assistance.
Baker also said that the state is making progress in its fight against the virus and that the Re-Opening Advisory Board is working to create strategies for stores and businesses to fully re-open when it is safe to do so.
In response to a question from a reporter about the possibility of re-opening golf courses, Baker said he would leave decisions about safe openings to the Re-Opening Advisory Board.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders, who spoke at the briefing after Baker, said that the state will be posting online a zip file with raw data about COVID-19.
"We're providing these files, which contain de-identified data, in direct response to requests for that level of data by public health researchers, the media and others," she said.
