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Debate in Massachusetts over responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
These pages were updated from March 2020 through June 2020 and do not contain the latest commentary available. To submit arguments for inclusion on this page, email editor@ballotpedia.org. To learn how Ballotpedia decides which arguments to feature, click here.
Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive coverage of how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America's political and civic life. In addition to monitoring federal, state, and local responses to the coronavirus, we are also capturing the nationwide and local debates on whether to extend or lift coronavirus-related restrictions affecting the economy, schools, government operations, public health, religious services, and travel.
These arguments come from a variety of sources, including public officials, journalists, think tanks, economists, scientists, and other stakeholders. We encourage you to share the debates happening in your local community to editor@ballotpedia.org.
This article covers the debate over continuing restrictions and closures in Massachusetts in response to the coronavirus pandemic. You will find the following:
- Debate over the stay-at-home order
- Debate over school closures
- Debate over religious service restrictions
- Debate over election policy
- Debate over public health
- Links to coverage of responses to the coronavirus in Massachusetts
Debate over stay-at-home orders in Massachusetts
This section includes a sampling of statements made by public officials, influencers, and stakeholders on the stay-at-home order in Massachusetts.
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Governor Charlie Baker (R) (The Boston Globe): Governor Charlie Baker (R) explained why he was extending the state’s stay-at-home order through May 18.
"There’s literally no one in the health care world or the public health world or the infectious disease world who thinks you can open the door . . . if you haven’t seen any negative downward trend on any of those key measures." - "Cautioning against ‘letting up,’ Baker extends business closures, stay-at-home advisory to May 18," April 28, 2020.
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Jon Hurst, of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (The Boston Globe): Jon Hurst, of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, urged Governor Charlie Baker to allow non-essential businesses to re-open.
"It doesn’t make sense health care wise or economic fairness wise. … We’ve learned some best practices from grocers, from hardware stores, restaurants that do curbside [pickup]. We have some best practices on social distancing that can certainly apply to any type of retailer beyond the essential ones." - "Cautioning against ‘letting up,’ Baker extends business closures, stay-at-home advisory to May 18," April 28, 2020.
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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) (NBC10 Boston): Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) said that he supported extending the state’s stay-at-home order past its scheduled expiration on May 4.
"We can't afford to make any mistakes. … We are going to approach it very thoughtfully. We never want to put ourselves in a position where we move too quickly and undo the progress we have made." - "Mayor Walsh: ‘Boston Will Not Reopen on May 4’," April 27, 2020.
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Keith Lambert (Boston.com): Dozens of people in Cape Cod protested Governor Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home order on April 19, 2020. Protester Keith Lambert explained his opposition to the order.
"We need to follow the president’s and the task forces’ guidelines for opening the economy. … It needs to happen fairly quick so that people can get back to working and supporting their families. And as you can see, with so many people out here, people are tired of being cooped up inside." - "Dozens of protesters on Cape Cod call for reopening the economy despite COVID-19," April 20, 2020.
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Governor Charlie Baker (R) (The Boston Globe): On April 13, 2020, Governor Charlie Baker joined the coalition of governors from eastern states—including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut—that planned to coordinate the re-opening of the region’s economy. He said that Massachusetts would not begin re-opening until after coronavirus cases had peaked in the state.
"I don’t think anybody thinks you can just flip the switch at any point in the not-too-distant future." - "Massachusetts, girding for coronavirus surge, joins coalition of eastern states to plan next chapter," April 13, 2020.
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Christopher Geehern, of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (The Boston Globe): "Even if in a perfect world the governor got up today and said, ‘We’re open,’ for employers there’s a lot of uncertainty. … What is the standard going to be for allowing people to come back to work? Are these companies going to set up temperature scanning stations? Are they going to require an antibody test? They just don’t know." - "Cautioning against ‘letting up,’ Baker extends business closures, stay-at-home advisory to May 18," April 28, 2020.
"Massachusetts must allow gun stores to reopen despite pandemic, judge rules" - Reuters, May 7, 2020
"Boston Chamber Of Commerce Wants To See Reopening Plan By Friday" - WBUR, May 6, 2020
"State Reopening Architects Emphasizing Safety Over Speed" - WBUR, May 5, 2020
"Hundreds protest outside of Massachusetts State House despite coronavirus restrictions, calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to reopen the state" - Mass Live, May 4, 2020
Additional reading
Debate over school closures in Massachusetts
This section includes a sampling of statements made by public officials, influencers, and stakeholders on school closures in Massachusetts.
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Governor Charlie Baker (R) (NBC10 Boston): Governor Charlie Baker defended his decision to close Massachusetts schools for the remainder of the school year.
"It’s the right thing do considering the facts on the ground at this point. At this point in time there is no authoritative guidance with respect to how to operate schools safely and how to get kids to and from school safely." - "Gov. Baker Orders Mass. Schools Closed Through End of School Year," April 21, 2020.
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Early Education and Care Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy (WBUR): "Parents cannot go back to work if their children are not safely cared for. … Educators cannot go back to work if proper preparations and protocols aren't in place. Programs cannot reopen if meaningful policies, guidance and support is not there for them. And businesses cannot reopen if their employees don't have safe, high quality child care to send their children to." - "Extended Closures Could Mean Some Mass. Day Cares Never Reopen," April 23, 2020.
Debate over religious service restrictions in Massachusetts
This section includes a sampling of statements made by public officials, influencers, and stakeholders on religious service restrictions in Massachusetts.
We have not yet identified any statements related to this topic or state. To suggest a statement, email us.
Debate over election policy in Massachusetts
This section includes a sampling of statements made by public officials, influencers, and stakeholders on election policies in Massachusetts.
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State Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) and State Representative Adrian Madaro (D-Boston) (Wicked Local Needham): State Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) and State Representative Adrian Madaro (D-Boston) co-sponsored a bill (SD. 2912/HD. 5026) that would expand voting-by-mail in Massachusetts’ primary and general elections. Rasuch explained the bill’s rationale.
"Free, open, and accessible elections are a central pillar of our democracy. We’re facing a global pandemic that makes traditional in-person voting seriously concerning if not downright dangerous, so we must proactively pursue alternative voting methods. We do this by expanding a process we already know to be viable in our Commonwealth." - "Statement: Needham Senator files vote by mail legislation for 2020 elections," April 17, 2020.
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Deb O’Malley, spokesperson for Secretary of State William Galvin (South Coast Today): Deb O’Malley, spokesperson for Secretary of State William Galvin, said that expanding voting-by-mail presented logistical concerns that would need to be addressed.
"We are continuing to explore all options for this year’s elections and look for ways to expand access to mail-in ballots. There are some issues that would need to be addressed with any proposal to mail voters ballots unsolicited, including how to determine which party ballot an unenrolled voter would receive for the State Primary." - "Galvin flags vote-by-mail issue: Which ballots to send unenrolled," April 13, 2020.
Debate over public health in Massachusetts
This section includes a sampling of statements made by public officials, influencers, and stakeholders on public health in Massachusetts.
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Jim Yong Kim, co-founder of the nonprofit organization Partners in Health (The New York Times): Massachusetts funded a program that would perform contact-tracing of those diagnosed with COVID-19. Jim Yong Kim, a co-founder of the nonprofit organization Partners in Health, which administers the program, defended its cost and feasibility.
"When people say you can’t do that, it’s too labor-intensive, it makes no sense to me. … Ask all the people sheltering in place, the 70 percent of people who have lost income — I would ask those people, how much is it worth to us to really get on top of it? $100 billion? $500 billion?" - "An Army of Virus Tracers Takes Shape in Massachusetts," April 16, 2020.
Click the links below for more on responses to the coronavirus pandemic in Massachusetts.
- Changes to election dates and procedures
- Statewide stay-at-home order
- Statewide travel restrictions
- Executive orders
- Officials and candidates diagnosed with or quarantined due to coronavirus
- Enacted legislation
- Legislative session changes
- School closures
- Court closures
- Prison inmate release responses
- Rent, mortgage, eviction, and foreclosure policies
General resources
The chart below shows coronavirus statistics from countries across the world. The information is provided by Real Clear Politics.
Click the links below to explore official resources related to the coronavirus outbreak.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor
- U.S. Department of Education
- World Health Organization
- Trends in Number of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the US Reported to CDC, by State/Territory
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) Vaccinations, Our World in Data (Number of vaccines administered)
- Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker, New York Times (Progress of vaccine trials)
See also
- Ballotpedia: Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
- State government responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
- Government official, politician, and candidate deaths, diagnoses, and quarantines due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
- Changes to ballot measure campaigns, procedures, and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2022
- Ballotpedia's elections calendar
Footnotes
