BAKER SEES AN OPENING
Restaurants, retail up next as numbers keep improving
Restaurants, retail stores and other point-of-sale places are on the brink of reopening as coronavirus numbers continue to dwindle, but Gov. Charlie Baker said he won’t be dropping any hints as to the official reopening date until Saturday.
“We’ve made significant progress in fighting COVID, and more people are opening businesses,” Baker said during a press conference at the State House on Wednesday. “But as more things reopen and as we get into summer, we must all remember how quickly we move forward will ultimately depend on how well we do our jobs in covering our faces, washing our hands and surfaces and distancing from others.”
The governor is cautiously approaching the reopening of the state’s shattered economy. Thousands of businesses shuttered across the state in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID19 — sending tax revenues plummeting. The state saw a 50% drop in tax collections in April compared to the prior year while May’s numbers came in 16% under 2019 numbers, according to the Department of Revenue.
Business leaders and elected officials are eager to reopen, but Baker has echoed repeated warnings that another quarantine could be around the corner if “primary indicators” of the coronavirus response don’t stay in check. As the state relaxes the restrictions that shuttered thousands of businesses across the state, some public health officials have warned there could be a resurgence in cases.
The governor stressed the impact personal hygiene, social distancing and face masks have already had on flattening the curve of the virus in Massachusetts, where key data trends have skewed downward in recent weeks. The positive test rate has plummeted 77% since the virus peaked in April and 27% of all tests came back positive, Baker said.
The percentage of positive cases was just 5% on Tuesday, state public health data shows. With more than 101,000 cases, Massachusetts has the third-highest case-load in the country and Baker said the pace of the state’s gradual fourphase reopening plan will ultimately depend on the public health data.
Phase 2 of the governor’s gradual four-phase reopening plan allows restaurants, retail stores, malls, hotels, day-cares, amateur sports and summer camps to reopen — with restrictions. The earliest it could get the green light is June 8.
Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy warned, “the retail customer experience will be different than that what it was pre-COVID-19.”
The state is ramping up testing efforts in tandem with reopening. Thanks in part to a $375 million federal grant it will open 20 new testing centers in hard-hit communities and and expand lab capacity to process 25,000 tests a day by the end of June, Baker said.