A bunch of medical doctors are pushing for stronger masks advisories and mandates as COVID instances proceed to rise in Massachusetts.
COVID-19 instances have been rising steadily in Massachusetts in latest weeks, with a lot of the state now within the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention’s excessive threat class. Specialists say COVID instances are seemingly 3 times increased than the numbers being reported by the state, since most individuals are taking at-home assessments.
The Massachusetts Coalition for Well being Fairness held a digital occasion Wednesday, the place a number of medical doctors and different neighborhood consultants mentioned the most recent surge and the necessity to implement extra stringent coronavirus insurance policies, together with masks mandates.
Prime Boston medical doctors clarify why some folks residing in the identical family get COVID whereas others don’t, how BA2.12 is taking on because the dominant pressure and why the virus is creating a resistance to the antiviral drug remdesivir throughout NBC10 Boston’s weekly collection, “COVID Q&A.”
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Ought to Massachusetts implement a masks mandate for colleges, public transit?
“We need to urge the Division of Public Well being to instantly subject an advisory, mainly saying that, that the general public ought to be carrying masks indoors and avoiding giant gatherings,” Dr. Lara Jirmanus of Harvard Medical Faculty mentioned.
The group of physicians and public well being consultants are pushing for colleges and the MBTA to reinstate a masks mandate till the most recent surge passes. In addition they need to improve entry to testing, remedy and vaccines.
Boston COVID wastewater information rising, hospitalizations stay low
Wastewater information reveals COVID is on the rise within the Boston space, but it surely’s nonetheless nowhere close to the place it was in the course of the omicron surge earlier this 12 months. Gov. Charlie Baker mentioned Wednesday that the quantity people who find themselves within the hospital as a result of they’ve COVID remains to be low.
“Our hospitalization numbers which are for COVID are nonetheless very low and the rationale they’re low is as a result of 80% of the grownup inhabitants is absolutely vaccinated and about half of these people are boosted,” Baker mentioned.
When requested about the opportunity of going again to masks mandates, Baker advised reporters that if folks need to put on them, they need to, however the focus ought to be on vaccines and coverings.
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ-TV, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON – Massachusetts has long been known as a Democratic state, but the 2024 election showed a Republican shift.
Presidential election
Vice President Kamala Harris won the state’s 11 electoral votes Tuesday, but former president Donald Trump improved his vote total from 2020. Trump won in 75 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Eleven of those communities voted for Democrat Joe Biden four years ago.
So what’s behind the shift?
Saugus, one of those towns that flipped for Trump, is a great example of a longstanding reality here in Massachusetts. We may be a reliably Democratic state in federal elections, but independents are the dominant voters, and plenty of them, as well as a significant number of Democrats, are to the right of our liberal elected officials.
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“In this two-year cycle we will have gained two state senate seats. We did that in a presidential election year which is often very difficult for the Republican Party,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale told WBZ-TV.
Massachusetts Trump voters
It’s no accident that voters in Massachusetts have elected Republican governors in seven of the last ten elections. Voters of all kinds have been feeling the pinch of inflation lately. And this year, controversial subjects like the influx of migrants into Saugus public schools, surely drove some local voters to vote for Trump, who made immigration his signature issue.
One thing’s for sure – voters here and elsewhere are fed up with extraneous so-called “wokeness,” policies that may be well-intentioned but often strike people as gratuitous political correctness. Real or imagined and exaggerated, that sort of thing is catnip to politicians like Trump who brand themselves as the antidote to wokeness.
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Jon Keller
Jon Keller is Political Analyst for WBZ-TV News, and his “Keller @ Large” reports on a wide range of topics are regularly featured during WBZ-TV News at 5 and 6 p.m. Keller’s commentaries are also seen weekday mornings at 5:30 a.m. on WBZ This Morning.
Here’s a look at how the federal holiday might impact your plans, from altered store hours and train schedules to heavier traffic and shifts in local services on Monday.
Holiday observed: Monday.
Retail stores: Open at owners’ discretion after 1 p.m., unless retailer obtains permit to open earlier.
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Liquor stores: Closed until 1 p.m. Monday.
Supermarkets: Open at owner’s discretion.
Convenience stores: Open at owners’ discretion.
Taverns, bars: Open at owners’ discretion.
Banks: Closed.
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Municipal buildings: Closed.
Libraries: Closed.
Schools: Closed.
Mail: Post offices closed. UPS and FedEx will operate as usual.
MBTA: All modes of public transit will operate on a regular schedule.
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Boston traffic rules: Parking meters are free with no time limit. All other parking rules apply.
Trash/recycling collection: Collections will be delayed in some neighborhoods.
Kiera McDonald can be reached at kiera.mcdonald@globe.com.