Some communities move forward in state’s reopening

BOSTON — Officials at Tufts Medical Center spoke to Boston 25 News about the rising COVID-19 numbers as the state continues to reopen.

“We can have businesses open and we can do very, very well because masks and distancing worked,” said Tuft’s epidemiologist Dr. Shira Doron.

Massachusetts is now in Phase 3 Step 2, and, for the first time, the governor is only allowing looser restrictions in communities considered low-risk based on the weekly health data.

>>>RELATED: What you need to know: Step 2 of Phase 3 begins Monday in most Mass. communities

“The secret moving ahead is for the governor’s office and [the] Department of Public Health to have a very targeted, nuanced approach,” said Greg Sullivan with the Pioneer Institute, a public policy research group in Boston.

Sullivan added that the state, unfortunately, also has to focus on industries with the most public interaction.

“It is the customer-facing businesses that are the most dangerous,” he said. “And they are adversely the most prone to going out of business.”

Medical experts also point out that the lowest virus numbers did not necessarily come when you would think.

>>>MORE: Indoor recreational venues prepare to reopen in MA this week under step 2 of Phase 3

“Our low wasn’t on lockdown. Our low was long after, very long after – fully into reopening,” Doron said.

Doron also told Boston 25 News that it is not just about the number of cases, it is about the communities' ability to handle the volume of cases they have, and she said the state is absolutely doing that.

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