BOSTON — Lawmakers heard testimony about why the governor should tighten restrictions to keep COVID under control for the holidays. One medical expert pitched doing it temporarily to get the state through Christmas.
Governor Charlie Baker is being urged to bring back a statewide mask mandate or even a temporary one to help slow the growing COVID numbers down. The governor said they have a mask advisory, which urges people to wear one indoors but doesn’t mandate it.
“If locals believe it is appropriate for their community, they should go ahead and go for it,” Baker said.
State House legislative leaders held a Joint Committee hearing on the state’s COVID response plan. Much of the testimony called for more action to combat the growing COVID numbers. Steven Walsh, the president of the Mass Health and Hospital Association, is one of many experts who testified.
“The people of MA have stepped up in extraordinary ways since the pandemic started, they have done everything we have asked them to do and they made sacrifices, but they have to do it again,” Walsh said.
The governor’s team was invited to bring lawmakers up to speed, but the governor told us later they had a scheduling conflict and plan to testify after the new year. Lawmakers are worried that might be too late.
“We saw the uptick after Thanksgiving, we expect to see another 10% increase between now and the middle of January, which is going to cause these problems to become more serious,” Walsh said.
The Chair of the Joint Committee told us they were hoping to hear from the governor’s team at the hearing. But they are working with the governor’s office to reconvene in the new year.
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