Senate President Karen Spilka calls on Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to go beyond indoor mask ‘advisory’
Alison Kuznitz | MassLive | December 21, 2021
Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka on Tuesday afternoon called on Gov. Charlie Baker to go beyond the indoor mask advisory he issued in response to rising coronavirus infections fueled by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
“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 in a statement, following a briefing Tuesday morning from the governor at the Massachusetts State House.
Baker announced he would activate up to 500 members of the National Guard to help overwhelmed hospitals with “non-clinical support needs,” including non-emergency transport and patient observation. The Baker administration also ordered hospitals to cancel or postpone all “non-essential, non-urgent” procedures by Monday to preserve “health care personnel resources.”
Yet to the dismay of state lawmakers and medical experts, Baker once again balked at renewing the state’s indoor mask mandate, instead empowering local officials to pursue stricter COVID-19 mitigation measures as needed.
Spilka, in her statement, signaled advisories and recommendations are not enough. Massachusetts needs to “apply a consistent approach to stopping the spread and saving lives,” she said.
“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,” Spilka said.
“Additionally, when it comes to school safety, our COVID-19 pool testing practices should be provided on an opt-out, rather than opt-in, basis to better protect our students, teachers and staff,” Spilka continued. “Many communities, businesses and school districts have already instituted these measures to help save lives and they should be applauded. However, time is of the essence and a patchwork strategy will not lead to a healthier, faster recovery for Massachusetts.”
House Speaker Ron Mariano did not immediately provide comment on whether he also supports an indoor statewide mask mandate.
Spilka’s statement comes after Rep. Ayanna Pressley similarly pressed Baker in a letter Tuesday to reinstate a universal indoor mask mandate. Massachusetts residents deserve “bold leadership and evidence-based policies that will mitigate COVID-19 transmission and save lives,” Pressley said.
“As the experts rightfully point out, it is critical that any comprehensive statewide plan include the reinstatement of a statewide universal indoor mask policy,” Pressley wrote in her letter Tuesday. “Initial data and analysis from the CDC show that the newly mutated Omicron variant is more contagious and could spread more quickly than the original COVID-19 virus. It is clear, implementing a universal indoor mask policy now can help mitigate these spikes and help save lives.”
Pressley threw her support behind Massachusetts COVID-19 Action Plan, spearheaded by State Sen. Becca Rausch and top medical experts who last week urged Baker to reinstate the mask mandate, among a slew of other COVID-19 vaccination and testing recommendations meant to bolster equity and protections among marginalized communities.
In a virtual briefing Tuesday afternoon, Rausch didn’t mince words as she summarized the governor’s handling of the latest COVID-19 surge.
“The governor’s persistent refusal to follow CDC guidance on mask wearing and failure to provide a data-driven blueprint to keep our residents safe puts all of us families and businesses alike at risk — and disproportionately, our elders, our vulnerable community members, and our youngest children who still have no access to vaccines,” Rausch said.