Gov. Charlie Baker skipped an emergency meeting with governors from the Northeast this weekend as states clamp down in an effort to get a lid on the uncontrolled spread of the coronavirus and health experts predicted more stringent pandemic regulations would soon be necessary.
A spokeswoman for the governor’s office said members of the administration “regularly collaborate” with other Northeast states regarding regional strategies in the fight against COVID-19. Baker had a “scheduling conflict” on Sunday, according to his office.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the “emergency” summit on Friday expressing concerns about “living room spread” — a refrain often repeated by Baker.
“We want to make sure that we can align policies as much as possible,” Cuomo said, hinting that an announcement related to COVID-19 measures could be coming on Monday.
Baker has “no plans” to make immediate changes to current public health protocols, a spokeswoman told the Herald Sunday. Earlier this month the governor heightened mask regulations and instituted a 9:30 p.m. curfew for businesses and an overnight stay-at-home advisory for residents.
Jay Inslee, the Democratic governor of Washington, this weekend took sweeping steps — banning all indoor gatherings, in-door dining and closing movie theaters, gyms and museums — in an effort to limit movement as cases there surge similar to the trends being seen in Massachusetts.
Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health, said Massachusetts can — and should — avoid those kinds of “draconian” shutdowns as long the state’s hospitals don’t exceed capacity.
“The question for places like Massachusetts and New York — which both currently have targeted measures — is, is that enough? Are curfews enough? Is having restaurants stop serving in-person at 9:30 p.m. enough? Is the cutting the gathering size to 10 enough?” Ellering said.
Coronavirus spread in Massachusetts is on the rise but below the national average and increasing more slowly than most states.
New diagnosed case totals nationwide continue to break records nearly daily, totaling nearly 140,000 on Sunday alone.
Hospitals in Massachusetts — tending to more than twice the number of coronavirus patients with 737 on Sunday than they were just two months ago — are nowhere near capacity, according to Department of Public Health Data.
In a Friday editorial in the Boston Globe, a group of infectious disease specialists said they supported Baker’s targeted approach “for now” but cautioned the need to make “responsible decisions” in the weeks ahead.
“Unfortunately my prediction is that at some point this winter more stringent measures will be needed,” Ellerin said.
UMass Dartmouth Public Policy Professor Michael Goodman underscored the urgency of “disaster relief” in the form of a federal stimulus as the virus mounts a comeback warning states “will pay a very big price” if they shut down without it.
Davidson Hamer, professor of global health at Boston University, highlighted the need for interstate collaboration and “consistency in best practices” as the nation navigates a second surge.
“Ideally it would be good to have harmonization across states in terms of what strategies are being used — what businesses are open, what’s the appropriate gathering size and duration of quarantine,” Hamer said.
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November 16, 2020 at 09:24AM
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Baker skips ’emergency’ coronavirus meeting of Northeast governors - Boston Herald
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