As the number of COVID-19 cases remains on the rise, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is continuing his push to keep schools open as much as possible.
New guidance from the state tells districts remote-only learning should only be used when there's transmission of the virus within a school.
"In just about every community, with the safety measures we've put in place, and our local colleagues have responded to, the data pretty much says the same thing — that schools can open safely," Baker said.
The state also changed some of the metrics is uses to determine if a community is at high risk of the coronavirus, also with an eye on keeping schools open.
Panelist Natalia Muñoz said she thinks Baker is doing the best he can.
"I think Baker is trying to balance science and also that children benefit from being around each other," she said. "But I don't think there's a hard, 'yes — open the schools,' or 'no — don't open the schools.' I think it has be looked at day-by-day."
Panelist Dave Eisenstadter called this debate "a difficult and thorny and really unknowable issue." He said he doesn't think he'd support penalizing schools that choose to stay remote.
"We're talking about a virus that kills people," he said. "And it is bad to do remote learning. I mean, remote learning is not real, in-class learning. It's not as good and it causes more disparities. But I don't think — as Natalia was pointing out — I don't really think there are good options for anybody."
Also in Massachusetts, some retailers are requiring everyone entering their storesto wear a mask, even if they have a medical exemption.
Brad Borofsky is president of Sam's Outdoor Outfitters, which has a location in Hadley and is requiring mask-wearing by all.
"If we didn't make it mandatory for people to wear masks, we wouldn't be doing that much business because there's a lot of people that wouldn't come into the store," Borofsky said. "But the first problem I would have is, I don't think my employees would come into the store, so I wouldn't have to worry about being open."
Right now, the state says customers who don't wear a mask for medical reasons cannot be denied entry to a store. So retailers with strict no-mask policies could be in violation of the state order.
Muñoz noted that because Massachusetts doesn't require people to prove they need a medical exemption, some customers are flouting the mask requirement. She said they should have to show a verified doctor's note.
"I have a friend who works at Costco. Do you know how many people walk into Costco and say, 'I got a medical condition'? And they don't wear the mask, but then there's no proof," she said.
Both Muñoz and Eisenstadter complained about people who are able to wear masks, but refuse for political purposes.
"There's this lack of thinking about the community," Muñoz said. "It's about 'me-me-me and what do I want,' and not enough about what is best for us as a country going through this very challenging time."
Meanwhile in Springfield, two city councilors who were elected last week to the state legislature could very well choose to fill both roles going forward. Orlando Ramos, who will be a state representative in January, tells The Republican he plans to serve out the final year of his council term. State Senator-elect Adam Gomez said he's still considering what to do.
Guests:
- Natalia Muñoz, host, Vaya Con Muñoz on WHMP
- Dave Eisenstadter, veteran western Mass. Journalist
