We applaud Gov. Charlie Baker’s cautious, data-driven approach to reopening Massachusetts’ economy and society from two months of coronavirus.
Massachusetts a month ago ranked third behind New Jersey and New York among states with the most coronavirus cases. Baker has held televised news conferences almost every day since March underscoring the pandemic’s deadly toll on the Bay State, the steps his administration is taking, and the advice state officials are giving to keep residents safe.
On Monday, Baker released a four-phased strategy for reopening businesses and social activities in the state. The recommendations, beginning with easing restrictions on construction jobs, manufacturers, worship places and hospitals, are based on work by the Reopening Advisory Board advising the governor.
It’s worth taking time to think about the task that coronavirus dropped onto Baker’s shoulders in March. Faced with rapidly-accelerating evidence about a deadly new disease, he issued shutdown and restriction orders that no one would have imagined having to issue or comply with a month earlier.
In making those decisions, Baker was confronted with the scariest information any leader could hear. Experts told him that a growing body of evidence indicated coronavirus could spread like wildfire and overwhelm even Massachusetts’ state-of-the-art medical infrastructure.
From late March into April, Baker did not turn coronavirus into a political football. He did not point fingers and assign blame in an attempt to keep the focus and heat off him. He turned again and again to the grim numbers and repeated again and again the need for many Massachusetts residents to stay home and for social isolation to become the norm.
When the initial May 4 reopening date looked unrealistic against the backdrop of case statistics, Baker pushed reopening back to May 18. As other states eased coronavirus restrictions and protesters clamored outside his home for reopening, he stood by the data and calmly warned that a quick reopening could send cases spiking and reverse progress made in slowing the pandemic’s spread.
The reopening plan calls for each phase to last at least three weeks with constant health data review. With his measured tone and familiarity with technical jargon, Baker is an easy target for people who suggest he isn’t supporting the little guy who wants to get back in business cutting hair or filling a restaurant with customers.
But Baker, in our view, has earned an A+ for taking a level, measured and sane approach to protecting Massachusetts from coronavirus and moving the state back to a “new normal.”
