New COVID-19 measures

[edschweppe]

Apparently, the Massachusetts Executive Office of No Shit Sherlock COVID-19 Is Still A Fucking Problem finally got Governor Baker's attention. He held a press conference today to announce new COVID-19 restrictions:

Restaurant table service will have to stop at 9:30 p.m. each day, and facilities such as gyms, theaters, and casinos will have to close by the same time, according to a slate of "targeted measures" Governor Charlie Baker said are intended to keep people home at night amid Massachusetts' quickly escalating count of coronavirus infections.

Speaking at a State House news conference, Baker also said he's restricting private indoor gatherings to 10 people at a time when families are preparing for Thanksgiving, and he is tightening the state's face-covering mandate, requiring that anyone over 5 years old must wear a mask in public regardless of their distance from other people.

The Department of Public Health is also instituting a new stay-at-home advisory — though not a formal curfew — that urges the public to be at home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., except for necessary activities, such as going to work, school, or the grocery store. The changes go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

The raft of changes, some of which carry fines for those who disobey them, are an effort to encourage people to change their behavior without ordering a wholesale reversal in the state's reopening plans, Baker said.

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"The simple truth is this: Too many of us have become complacent in our daily lives," Baker said. "We're doing much better than many other states and many other countries, but here, too, we've let down our guard and we have work to do."

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Baker first instituted a mask order in May, requiring millions of Massachusetts residents to cover their faces when they shop for groceries, take public transportation, or go into public places if they couldn't keep six feet of distance between themselves and others.

But his new order removed the distance caveat, essentially mandating that people wear masks whenever in public if they are over the age of 5. Children who are between 2 and 5 years old are still encouraged to wear them.

"We're basically saying if you go out in public, wear a mask," Baker said.

Baker also announced changes to the daily dashboards, including changing the reporting time to 5PM. Supposedly the underlying data files won't change too much, but we shall see.