Answer on whether Massachusetts coronavirus business closures will end May 4 expected later this week

Speaking a week from the state’s expected reopening date, Baker said his answer will depend on trend data he receives in the next couple of days, just as he said last week that the trend data would be a key factor in his decision.

“The trend data remains reasonably high, but obviously whatever decision we make needs to come with a little thought and a plan behind it, so we’ll probably put that out later this week,” the Republican governor said Monday during a news conference at the Massachusetts State House.

Baker extended his executive order closing non-essential businesses to the public to May 4, a month later than previously scheduled, citing an upcoming peak of cases. He later said the peak of cases was expected to hit Massachusetts sometime between April 10 and April 20, leading to a range of 47,000 to 172,000 COVID-19 cases and thousands of deaths.

As of Sunday, Massachusetts recorded 54,938 total COVID-19 cases with 2,899 deaths. The state is starting to see the number of cases and number of deaths decline with a few fluctuations. Western Massachusetts has seen a notable decline in hospitalizations, Baker said on Monday.

While the state appeared to have successfully flattened the curve, Baker said the ramp down will likely be gradual, just as the ramp up was. That means, the state’s decline in COVID-19 cases and deaths may take longer than initially projected, potentially affecting how long the state needs to reopen.

Some business leaders continue to push for Gov. Charlie Baker to lift the executive order closing non-essential businesses. A group of protesters drove to the governor’s house in Swampscott last week, calling for him to reopen.

On Monday, some argued that businesses should be allowed to reopen with certain safety provisions in place. “Small businesses must be given the opportunity to demonstrate they are willing and capable of re-opening in a responsible and safe manner," said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “That is the only way our state will begin to climb out of the economic disaster it currently finds itself in.”

Other states have announced plans to reopen particularly in the South. Despite the pushback from some business leaders and residents, Baker said it makes sense for other states with very low numbers of positive tests, hospitalizations and deaths but not in the Northeast.

“There are about 55,000 people nationally who died of COVID-19 since the start of this outbreak. Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Michigan represent more than half of that total,” Baker said.
“The numbers vary so much from state to state that you would expect states to act relatively independently based on their own data and to try to act with the states around them,” he added.