GOV. CHARLIE BAKER issued an order that takes effect this Saturday further reducing the size of gatherings; lowering the number of people that can be admitted to restaurants, offices, and stores; and directing hospitals to cancel all nonessential, invasive procedures.
At a State House press conference on Tuesday, the governor said the order will be temporary, running from the day after Christmas until January 10. He said he saw the order as a way to curb COVID-19 infections and send a message to individuals to take the virus seriously over the holiday period.
“We would like to see people spend the next couple of weeks just with those they live with,” Baker said.
The governor said the latest crackdown was prompted by what happened after Thanksgiving when COVID-19 cases doubled and hospitalizations began to rise in a troubling way. “You literally had the heads of a number of hospitals say they could see the intergenerational transfer that was taking place,” he said, adding that the age of incoming patients went up dramatically and began to match up with the age levels seen during the spring.
Baker said the order isn’t taking effect until after Christmas because the expectation is that people will participate in some sort of faith service on Christmas Eve or Christmas. He insisted those types of gatherings can be done safely, although his rule will scale back how many people can attend houses of worship after Christmas passes.
The order cuts gathering sizes in homes, event venues, and public spaces to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors – down from 25 indoors and 50 outdoors.
The order also cuts the number of people who can enter establishments to 25 percent of permitted capacity, down from 40 percent. At restaurants, barber shops and salons, houses of worship, and retail stores, workers and staff are excluded from the counts. At all other venues, including offices, casinos, movie theaters, libraries, fitness clubs, and arcades, staff is included.
Any establishment or host violating the gathering or capacity limits is subject to fines for each person over the limit.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
Marylou Sudders, the governor’s secretary of health and human services, said hospitals must postpone or cancel all nonemergency invasive procedures starting on Saturday to conserve hospital capacity for COVID-19 patients. She said outpatient procedures can continue along with preventive care such as mammograms, pediatric visits, radiology, and cancer screenings.
Sudders said hospital officials should use their clinical judgment in determining what procedures can be safely delayed.
