Baker defends reopening
Says he thinks it’s safe to move on
Gov. Charlie Baker is defending his decision to continue reopening the state in the face of warnings from public health experts to pump the brakes and as Boston takes a more cautious approach.
“The thing to remember here is that different parts of the country are in different places — both with respect to the virus and with respect to what their rules are in regard to what people can do and what they can’t do,” Baker said during a Sunday appearance on WBZ with Jon Keller.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, a former member of Baker’s coronavirus advisory board, has pointed to Europe — where cases are again on the rise — as a cautionary tale against dropping safeguards too early. While Baker said he is “a huge fan” of Walensky, he said he’s not thinking twice about moving Massachusetts into Step 1 of Phase 4 on Monday.
“We constantly go back and look at what we’ve done and think about it as we look forward and the idea that this process isn’t an iterative one, is just wrong,” Baker said. “We’re constantly talking to people about this and making decisions based on the guidance and advice we get from some of the experts.”
While the state relaxes restrictions and allows indoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks to reopen to fans at an extremely limited capacity of 12% for the first time in a year, Boston will stick with more stringent restrictions.
Instead of allowing up to 100 people to gather indoors and up to 150 people to gather outside, Mayor Martin Walsh said the city will only allow indoor gatherings of up to 60 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 people until the city’s positive test rate stays below 2.75% for two consecutive weeks.
The caps will not apply to indoor or outdoor stadiums, arenas or ballparks, meaning that Fenway Park and TD Garden will still be able to host fans.
Massachusetts on Monday also rescinds a travel order requiring visitors from states at high risk for coronavirus to quarantine for 10 days, downgrading to a new travel advisory that will “urge,” people to do so instead.
It’s the second step forward in the reopening this month after Baker made “modest” changes allowing some high-contact industries to reopen on March 1 and removing capacity caps on restaurants.
“I think in some ways the approach we have taken for most of this … is to pursue what I would describe as a pretty incremental strategy and then follow the data and make decisions as we do so,” Baker said.
State House News Service contributed to this report.