Four weeks ago we were debating whether face masks were necessary or not. Now we’re starting to fine people if they fail to wear masks in any public place, inside or outside.
Somerville announced $300 fines on Monday, joining Cambridge ($300), Peabody ($1,000), Salem ($50 for a first offense and $300 for a third), and a handful of other Massachusetts communities.
Nationally, Los Angeles County requires anyone shopping or doing essential business to wear a mask, although authorities are counting on voluntary compliance. In Riverside County in California, however, mask-less scofflaws could face $1,000 fines. The Colorado county in which Steamboat Springs is located issued an order requiring all customers and employees at essential businesses to wear masks or risk fines of $5,000 or even 18 months in prison.
Internationally, Germany has ordered people to wear face masks in public. Enforcement is left to individual states, with fines ranging from nothing in some areas to 5,000 euros in others.
The face mask orders raise interesting policy questions. Is it better for political leaders to lay out the facts as they know them and appeal to the public for compliance? (Think Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.) Or does it make sense to go that additional step and threaten them with fines if they don’t comply? Which is better – a carrot, a stick, or both?
Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone likes to think big. He grabbed the public’s attention with his face mask announcement on Monday, which was partnered with an ambitious plan to test everyone in the municipality for COVID-19.
“When you have a health crisis like this changing rapidly and exponentially every day, we can’t be incremental in our approach. We must be bold, we must be uniform and acting in sync with each other,” Curtatone said recently.
The Somerville order, which takes effect on Wednesday, requires face masks to be worn by anyone 2 years old or older at any business open to the public and all public spaces, such as parks, sidewalks, streets, and outdoor commercial areas. “Joggers and cyclists must adhere to the order along with pedestrians,” the city says.
The Somerville order got massive press coverage, but there appeared to be little pushback against the idea of mandatory face coverings.
“I know this feels strange for many of us, but it is the best way you can prevent yourself from inadvertently spreading coronavirus to others when you’re out in public,” said Curtatone. “Not everyone who has COVID-19 shows symptoms. You can be carrying the virus and infecting others without knowing. No one wants to be the one who infected the grocery store clerk, or the hardware store stocker, or the family out for a stroll. Wearing a mask is one way to avoid that.”
Still, don’t expect a police crackdown in Somerville. There is a one-week grace period before the fines kick in and even then enforcement will likely take a back seat to education.
“Ticketing for this is our last resort, but we do have to put public health first. So for those individuals who willfully fail to comply, we will reserve this option,” said David Fallon, Somerville’s chief of police.
BRUCE MOHL
BEACON HILL
Gov. Charlie Baker gives nursing homes $130 million in emergency funding, a recognition that the long-term care facilities are the biggest problem right now in the fight against COVID-19. (CommonWealth) Baker, still refusing to say whether non-essential businesses will remain closed after May 4, says hospitalizations appear to have plateaued. (CommonWealth)
The House is planning votes by phone as it prepares for its first formal, or regular, session. (CommonWealth)
A new law will let notary publics witness signatures via video conferencing. (MassLive)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
Baker may be holding back an announcement, but Mayor Marty Walsh isn’t: He says Boston will not be ready to reopen on May 4. (Boston Herald)
Berkshire County, an early hotspot in the COVID-19 outbreak, reported no new cases and no new deaths on Monday. (Berkshire Eagle)
The Worcester pastor who held a church service with 56 worshippers despite Gov. Charlie Baker’s ban on gatherings remains defiant. (Telegram & Gazette)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
The death toll of veterans reaches 67 at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, one of the hardest hit nursing homes in the country. (Boston Globe)
Gov. Charlie Baker raises concerns about antibody tests, which have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and have a high degree of false results. (CommonWealth)
WBUR provides an update on the contact tracing effort the state is mounting with Partners in Health. NPR, meanwhile, runs down how other states are doing.
Scientists explore coronavirus plasma therapy with promising results (WGBH)
An emergency room doctor who treated coronavirus patients at a hard-hit New York City hospital committed suicide. “She tried to do her job, and it killed her,” her father said. (New York Times)
Up to 1 in 3 death certificates nationwide were already wrong before COVID-19, said Bob Anderson, chief of the mortality statistics branch at the National Center for Health Statistics in an interview with the USA TODAY Network. (Standard-Times)
Massachusetts has dramatically ramped up its coronavirus testing, but more needs to be done. (The Salem News)
DigBoston provides an inside look into a former state hospital turned shelter that now houses homeless COVID-19 patients.
An MGH simulation estimates that letting the stay at home advisory expire May 25 could result in 26,000 more deaths. (MassLive)
Before the COVID-19 outbreak started at Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, Superintendent Bennett Walsh told trustees that precautions were in place. (MassLive)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
More than dozen of President Trump’s daily intelligence briefings in January and February had warnings from US intelligence agencies about the coronavirus, a time during which he was downplaying the threat from the virus. (Washington Post)
After weeks of declaring testing levels sufficient, Trump unveiled a new plan to help state testing efforts, but experts say it falls short of what’s needed. (New York Times)
A quiet effort centered in Boston among a group of high-powered scientists and big-money backers is trying to fast-track efforts to develop an effective coronavirus vaccine. (Wall Street Journal)
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
Stop & Shop and its employee union want state and federal authorities to designate grocery workers “extended first responders,” giving them priority to obtain protective equipment. (Boston Herald)
The DCU Center in Worcester is crippled financially by cancellations. (Telegram & Gazette)
Local farms: Fresh produce, sustainable meat more popular than ever (Patriot Ledger)
Rick Sullivan of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council argues that the pandemic could bring more jobs to Western Massachusetts as companies revert to telecommuting. (MassLive)
Friendly’s lays off 197 people at its seven Massachusetts restaurants. (MassLive)
EDUCATION
Harvard University agrees to pay $1.3 million to settle charges that a team at the TH Chan School of Public Health overcharged the federal government for certain grants. The school brought the issue to federal investigators. (WBUR)
The Globe follows three sixth grade students of very different backgrounds as they pursue entry to Boston Latin School.
Kids are home but some daycare centers are still requesting tuition payments. (Telegram & Gazette)
New state education guidelines are now encouraging teachers to introduce new material through remote learning. (MassLive)
TRANSPORTATION
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board approves a $212 million hike in a revised, and long-delayed, fare collection contract. It appears one of the upgrades is the ability to crack down on people who don’t pay their fares. (CommonWealth)
The MBTA is receiving $827 in relief funding from the federal government, yet T General Manager Steve Poftak said it may not be enough. (CommonWealth)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
A US Supreme Court decision could spur Cape and Islands towns to pick up the pace in addressing contamination of ponds and bays by nutrients and other contaminants from septic systems and treatment plants. (Cape Cod Times)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
Inmates looking to get out of prison early testify about the lack of social distancing and, until very recently, the absence of masks. Testimony comes as the Baker administration starts more widespread testing in the state’s prisons. (CommonWealth)
PASSINGS
Former Westfield mayor George Varelas dies at 88 of COVID-19. (MassLive)