As Baker Announces Field Hospitals For Winter COVID-19 Surge, What Should Massachusetts Be Doing To Keep Cases Down?
Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday his administration’s plans to bring back field hospitals in the face of growing coronavirus cases that point to a coming wintertime surge. The move comes on top of some new containment measures introduced last week, including a suggested curfew. But as the state heads into the winter months and data points to transmission occurring both in small indoor gatherings and settings like unventilated restaurants and some group residential settings, is it enough? To discuss, Jim Braude was joined by William Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a member of the school’s Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, and Dr. Cassandra Pierre, acting hospital epidemiologist and medical director of public health programs at Boston Medical Center.
Masks Are Required, But What Happens If You Don't Wear One?
Gov. Charlie Baker’s latest order mandating masks in all public places will now be enforced on subways, buses and trains by MBTA police with $300 fines for violators. But when it comes to local enforcement, it remains an open question: the Baker administration leaves it up to each municipality to decide the role of police when it comes to enforcing this and other COVID-19 public health orders. And as Liz Neisloss found at a recent 'Stop The Steal' post-election protest in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Trump supporters without masks put enforcement to the test.
Transit Advocates Criticize MBTA Proposal For Big Service Cuts
Officials from the MBTA released their proposal Monday night for serious service cuts following drops in ridership as the coronavirus pandemic wears on. Transit advocates, however, are raising concerns about how the proposals will impact the long-term health of the public transportation system — particularly as it relates to working class riders, essential employees, and communities of color in a region with continued residential segregation. To discuss, Jim Braude was joined by Tracy Corley, transit development fellow at the nonpartisan think tank MassINC, and Chris Dempsey, director of Transportation for Massachusetts.
