Many elected liberals in Massachusetts support more restrictions on activity to prevent the spread of the virus. Here is a look at five of those policy proposals:
1. Going Back To Remote Learning
U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Hyde Park) thinks the Commonwealth should have more remote learning options for students amid the pandemic. Governor Charlie Baker, however, said on Tuesday that he doesn’t see a scenario where the state goes back to remote learning.
In a letter to the Baker administration, Pressley urged the governor to keep the remote learning option open for students and districts.
The letter urged the administration to “provide flexibilities to allow for remote learning options when necessary and advised by public health experts so schools are able to quickly respond to major outbreaks and so that students who have become ill or may have been exposed to COVID-19 are not at risk of falling behind.”
Have you heard about all those deaths from students being in person in school since September? No? Why do you suppose that is?
No matter. Safety first. Evidence later.
Just what kids need after the Lost Year of 2020-2021: More screen time.
2. Keeping the Massachusetts State House Closed
Massachusetts has the only State House in the country that remains closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano (D-Quincy) defended the decision to keep the State House closed in an interview last week.
“The building is still closed because we’re concerned about the safety of about 600 folks who work there,” he said during a Sunday appearance on WCVB’s “On the Record.”
“We’ll be welcoming visitors from all over the world,” he later added. “How are we going to deal with their vaccinations? How are we going to determine who comes in and who doesn’t come in? Those are things we’re moving through.”
Oddly enough, legislators in other states have pulled off “moving through” these purported problems, with no reported major mishaps.
How about a tradeoff: Keep the State House closed, and pass no more laws.
3. Indoor Mask Mandates
A group of 14 liberal state legislators, spearheaded by state Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham), have urged Governor Charlie Baker to reinstate an indoor mask mandate in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Baker didn’t do it, instead issuing a mask advisory on Tuesday. Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) told State House News Service that the move is insufficent in an interview on Tuesday.
“We must act aggressively to mitigate the impact and spread of the new COVID-19 Omicron variant across Massachusetts and prioritize protecting our most vulnerable residents, workers, and communities disparately impacted by the pandemic,” Spilka said. “To do this, I believe it’s necessary to go beyond advisories and recommendations and apply a uniform, consistent approach to stopping the spread and saving lives. While I thank the Governor for his actions to date, today, I am calling on the Administration to reinstitute a statewide indoor public mask mandate, increase efforts to achieve vaccine equity and require proof of vaccination for most public indoor social venues.”
Would these be the same masks that let coronavirus in after a long enough time because the virus molecules are smaller than the gaps? The same ones that cause some people breathing problems?
And why is all the fuss about transmission rates instead of death rates? Isn’t that the number we should be worried (or maybe not worried) about?
4. Vaccine Passports
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced the city will have vaccine passports in place starting on January 15, 2022.
Both patrons and staff at many indoor spaces in the city, including restaurants, bars, nightclubs, fitness facilities, and entertainment venues, will have to show proof that they’re vaccinated against coronavirus to enter facilities starting next month.
The city already had an indoor mask mandate in place.
Now Wu wants a second-class-citizen system shutting out non-vaxxers and a trip to bankruptcy court for restaurant and bar owners who somehow survived the first round of virus shutdowns.
How long until Boston starts looking like Detroit?
5. Canceling Christmas
State Representative Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) warned people on Twitter on Monday night that they might want to reconsider their Christmas plans in the wake of news that Omicron is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the country.
“73% of NEW cases,” Domb tweeted Monday, December 20, citing an article from The Washington Post on the variant. “Be careful. Consider your holiday plans and if you would make them today given this news. Remain open to changing or canceling.”
Sure, this may be your last chance to spend Christmas with Granny or with Auntie Sue. And yeah, maybe they prefer seeing you on December 25 and running the risk, whatever it may be.
But instead, let some elected official decide your life for you.
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