Beacon Hill Update: Tuesday, May 18th, 2021
May 19, 2021Tuesday, May 18, 2021:
- As of Monday night, DPH reported a total of 657,199 cases of COVID-19.
- The state reported 281 new confirmed cases.
- The state has now confirmed a total of 17,413 deaths from the virus.
- The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, May 29 is the new target date for the end of nearly all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts.
- By that date, more than two months ahead of the schedule announced less than three weeks ago, Massachusetts intends to lift its COVID-19 restrictions, though masks will still be required in certain settings like transportation, in schools and at health care facilities.
- And the state of emergency that’s been in place since March 10, 2020 will be lifted June 15, Governor Baker announced late Monday morning.
- The governor made clear that the end of government-mandated restrictions does not necessarily mean the end of the public health threat.
- In a press conference at the State House, Governor Baker said the new reopening timeline, May 29 was initially going to be the next, but not final, step towards a more complete reopening, is made possible by an effort that has the state in line to meet its goal of vaccinating 4.1 million residents by the first week of June.
- Rules will start to change today in the Bay State.
- Effective May 18, guidance for youth and amateur sports will be updated to allow kids under the age of 18 to play outdoor sports without having to wear a mask and to allow kids at school or child care to go mask-free when outdoors for activities like recess.
- Schoolkids will also be allowed to share classroom items again.
- On May 29, all industries will be permitted to open to 100 percent capacity, gathering limits will be rescinded and, with the exception of face-covering requirements for certain settings, all state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions will be lifted.
- Non-vaccinated individuals will be advised to continue wearing face masks and to continue distancing in most settings, but a new advisory will recommend that vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear a face covering or social distance indoors or outdoors except for in certain situations.
- Masks will also continue to be mandated in nursing homes, health care settings like hospitals and physicians’ offices, inside schools and day care centers, in prisons, jails, and homeless shelters, on public and private mass transit and in transportation hubs, like commuter rail and bus stations.
- The continuation of the mask mandate for public transportation is consistent with CDC recommendations on travel, and covers MBTA trains, subways and ferries, as well as private taxis, limos and Uber and Lyft rides.
- Governor Baker said he would continue to take his cues for masks on mass transit from federal health authorities.
- A top House Democrat is working with House Speaker Ron Mariano’s staff on a “comprehensive plan” to reopen the State House to staff and the public.
- While most House staff members will continue working remotely and sessions in the near term will continue in their pandemic-era mostly remote format, the announcement of a plan is the first move House leaders have made toward a potential reopening.
- Speaker Pro Tempore Kate Hogan acknowledged new days-old guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that say fully vaccinated people can resume activities in most places without wearing masks or physically distancing themselves.
- A timeline for the release of the plan was not specified and Hogan said only staff members who are essential to House operations should be physically present at the State House.
- Updated face covering and social distancing guidance for the House chamber, members, and staff “is forthcoming.”
- The House on Monday approved a compromise version of legislation funding a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home after negotiators reached a deal at the end of the last week.
- House and Senate lawmakers teed up the borrowing bill for a needed roll call vote on enactment in the House on Tuesday.
- Of the six members who negotiated differences between the House and Senate versions, all four Democrats signed on to the compromise proposal while the two Republicans, Sen. Ryan Fattman and Sen. Donald Berthiaume, did not.
- The legislation (H 3770) calls for $400 million in borrowing to build a new long-term care facility for veterans in Holyoke with another $200 million for long-term care services for veterans across the state.
- Administration officials are looking to secure a federal grant that would cover a majority of the project’s cost and an application with the facility’s full design plan is due to the federal government on Aug. 1.
- The House is back in full formal session Tuesday with roll call votes starting at 1 p.m.
- The Senate plans to give final approval to the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home reconstruction financing bill at a formal session on Thursday.
- The final agreement incorporates the Senate’s project labor agreement language for the Holyoke rebuild, according to the committee’s 11A report.
- The two Republican conferees, Sen. Ryan Fattman and Rep. Donald Berthiaume, did not sign off on the accord.
- The Senate will gavel into a formal session without a calendar on Thursday morning.
- After posting their best month since before the COVID-19 pandemic in March, the casinos and slots parlor in Massachusetts reported similarly positive revenue figures for the month of April, generating the largest monthly state tax haul since February 2020.
- The slots parlor at Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor jointly generated $84.63 million in gross gaming revenue last month, about $673,000 million more than in March. That yielded just more than $24.16 million in taxes and fees for the state, the Gaming Commission announced Monday.
- The state’s share from April is more than it has collected from its three gaming licensees since February 2020, when gaming generated more than $24.32 million for the state’s coffers during the last month without COVID-19 restrictions.
- Following news that opioid deaths rose 5 percent in 2020, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders urged people to “never give up hope” and double down on commitments to ending the opioid epidemic.
- Public health officials released new data Wednesday showing 2,104 people died of confirmed or estimated opioid overdose deaths in 2020.
- The state recorded 2,002 opioid deaths in 2019 and 2,102 in 2016.
- Secretary Sudders said officials in state government must “lean in together collectively with purpose, unity” in an effort to help people.
by David Gauthier
