After 462 days, the state of emergency declared by Governor Baker on March 10 in response to the coronavirus will end on Tuesday.
As the number of coronavirus cases doubled to 92 and the first evidence of community transmission was found in the Berkshires, Baker in March 2020 decided to interrupt his Utah vacation and returned to Massachusetts to declare an emergency and begin imposing restrictions that would shape the living in Massachusetts for over a year.
"There is no doubt that efforts to mitigate the spread of this virus will be disruptive," Baker said on March 10, 2020.
Compared to 92 cumulative cases at the time the emergency was declared, Massachusetts averaged just over 97 new COVID-19 cases each day through Thursday, though limits on testing mean there are likely many more. cases in March 2020 that was known at the time.
What will change now without emergency state.
When the state of emergency wears off, they will take with them all the pandemic policy adjustments that the governor or legislators put on the books that were linked to the emergency declaration, such as remote public meetings, eviction protections, healthcare flexibilities. and activities to buy cocktails to go.
The Senate approved a bill Thursday proposing month-long extensions for a series of measures that would otherwise expire. The House plans to take up its version of the bill, which has yet to be published, on Tuesday, and a spokesperson said this week that the House plans to work quickly to deliver a final bill to the governor.
When he announced in mid-May that the state of emergency would be lifted on June 15, Baker made clear that the end of government-imposed restrictions does not necessarily mean the end of the threat to public health.
According to a press release, mask requirements will still be applicable “in public and private transportation systems, hospitals and other facilities housing vulnerable populations.”
Four million Massachusetts residents have been vaccinated according to health officials, which could be attributed to the low infection rate.