GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday!
BAKER: MASKS KEY WHEN MASS. REOPENS —
We're a week away from when the Massachusetts stay-at-home advisory and an order closing nonessential businesses are set to lift on May 4. It's not clear whether things will start to slowly reopen next week, but Gov. Charlie Baker said on Saturday that face coverings will be a fact of life when nonessential employees do go back to work.
"I certainly believe that whatever the rules
of the road look like for reopening, masks and face coverings are going to be a big part of it - has to be," Baker said during a factory tour in the western part of the state.
Baker's embrace of masks is an example of how quickly messaging from public officials - on the state and national level - has shifted in the last two months as researchers learn more about the coronavirus. Even at the beginning of April, Baker was hesitant to wear a mask
to press conferences and other public appearances. Instead, he pointed to the importance of social distancing and said masks ought to go to health care workers and others on the front lines, who faced shortages of personal protective equipment. A little over a week later, Baker's administration advised Massachusetts residents to wear face coverings in public. The move was in line with guidelines from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which also shifted its messaging on masks this month.
A messaging hurdle officials faced early on was outreach to young adults. When the pandemic became major news in March, officials and health care experts stressed that people most at risk of dying from coronavirus were those over the age of 60, or those with underlying health conditions. The result: some Boston bars were crowded with revelers celebrating St. Patrick's Day weekend - and flouting social distancing recommendations. The city encouraged the bars to close
, and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh made a social distancing appeal to young people shortly after.
"This is everyone's responsibility, because anyone can catch and spread this virus. It's especially important for younger, healthy people to think beyond your own personal concerns," Walsh said during a televised address March.
Another issue that state officials and hospitals are grappling with right now is a dramatic decrease in hospital visits by patients who need medical care unrelated to the virus. Medical professionals worry people who are afraid of contracting the virus, or are concerned about overcrowded hospitals, are avoiding the life-saving medical care they need. As a result, the Baker administration launched a public service announcement campaign
last week to ensure people who need emergency care that it is safe to go to the hospital.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: MARKEY HIRES ACTIVIST BEHIND VIRAL TWEET — Sen. Ed Markey has hired Emma Friend, a former Warren 2020 organizer who posted a viral tweet last month that raised $57,000 for his campaign in a matter of days.
Friend will serve on Markey's reelection campaign as director of distributed campaigning. The hire comes as politicians across the state - and across the country - adapt to campaigning when most people are social distancing and staying at home. Friend's role will include "relational organizing," fundraising and communications.
"Emma's role, director of distributed campaigning, is new, but one that embodies the values at the heart of Senator Markey's campaign—investment at the grassroots level, belief in the power of people as equal partners in this movement, and alliance with progressives and progressive organizations across America. It builds on the campaign's aggressive commitment to an innovative relational organizing model," Markey campaign manager John Walsh said. Friend previously led the supporter-organized events program on Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — Sen. Ed Markey hosts a virtual town hall with the Massachusetts High School Democrats. Rep. Joe Kennedy III and Reverend William Barber II host a livestream.
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TODAY - A VIRTUAL PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER : Governor Whitmer has been a key figure in the response to the coronavirus pandemic. From a public spat with the president and to consistently being mentioned as a potential running mate for Joe Biden, Whitmer's profile is rapidly rising. Join Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman today at 9:30 a.m. EDT for a virtual Playbook Interview, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, with the governor focused on her approach to reopening Michigan's economy, how her state is coordinating with the White House on the pandemic response, and the likelihood of becoming Biden's running mate. Have questions? Submit yours by tweeting it to @POLITICOLive using #AskPOLITICO. REGISTER HERE.
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 | THE LATEST NUMBERS |
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- "Coronavirus cases in Massachusetts reach 54,938 on Sunday with 169 more deaths reported," by Douglas Hook, MassLive.com: "The number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts now stands at 54,938 as health officials announce 1,590 new cases of the virus. Officials also confirmed 169 new deaths, bringing the statewide total to 2,899. More than half of the reported deaths were in long-term care facilities with 1,632 people dead which accounts for 56% of all fatalities."
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| DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "'A way out': Inside the ambitious Mass. coronavirus contact tracing effort," by Victoria McGrane, Boston Globe: "Dr. Emily Wroe started working for Boston-based Partners in Health, the renowned global health nonprofit, while still a Harvard medical student. She worked with the government of Rwanda to build a modern hospital in the country's poor northern region, perched on a terraced hilltop surrounded by subsistence farms. Later, in Malawi, she treated patients with tuberculosis and HIV, working with community health workers to track down sick patients by foot and, sometimes, motorbike. Now she's building a new squad of public health workers. Only this one is based in Massachusetts and it's a virtual one, 1,000-people strong."
- "Baker leaves 'reopening' door open," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "Gov. Charlie Baker on Saturday declined to say whether the state will begin reopening on May 4, but he didn't rule it out. On a visit to a Cartamundi/Hasbro manufacturing facility in East Longmeadow that has started making medical face shields, the governor was more specific than usual about what would be needed to begin the reopening process."
- "Gov. Charlie Baker Says Mass. Is Still In Surge; Boston To Test Homeless Population," by Steve LeBlanc and David Klepper, The Associated Press: "Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday that while the state continues to battle the coronavirus, it still hasn't reached the other side of the surge. That means steps taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 — from shuttering nonessential businesses to social distancing — will remain in place."
- "State doing baseline COVID-19 testing at nursing homes," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "The head of the Massachusetts COVID-19 command center said she has dramatically stepped up testing at the state's nursing homes and wants to test all residents and employees as quickly as possible. 'We know how vulnerable they are so I want to test all nursing homes in Massachusetts,' said Marylou Sudders, the governor's secretary of health and human services."
- "Assisted-living sites struggle with COVID-19 in shadow of nursing home crisis," by Robert Weisman, Boston Globe: "As the coronavirus sweeps through Massachusetts nursing homes, leaving a trail of deaths that now tops 1,600, a parallel crisis has been playing out with far less scrutiny in another setting housing vulnerable seniors: assisted living. Massachusetts officials have been quietly tracking COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state's 260 assisted-living facilities — many of which contain memory care units — since last month."
- "Coronavirus campus unrest," by Michael Jonas, CommonWealth Magazine: "April, traditionally a time of excitement and possibility in higher education, is instead proving to be the cruelest month for US colleges and universities. High school seniors normally would be weighing their options after receiving college admission decisions, while campuses buzz with visits from excited would-be students. Instead, prospective freshmen are wondering whether their first year in college would begin on a laptop in their childhood bedroom, while schools are scrambling to develop contingency plans for an uncertain future filled with economic peril and, for some, threats to their very survival."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "In a Crowded City, Leaders Struggle to Separate the Sick From the Well," by Ellen Barry, The New York Times: "As the virus spreads through American communities, many leaders will face the same stubborn challenge: How, in a country that values its citizens' medical privacy and autonomy, can authorities separate the sick from the well? The question is an urgent one if public life is to resume."
- "Boston, Mass. General will test 1,000 in hard-hit neighborhoods for coronavirus antibodies," by Andy Rosen and Lucas Phillips, Boston Globe: "Boston is rolling out a program to test 1,000 residents for coronavirus antibodies in their blood as part of a study conducted with Massachusetts General Hospital to gauge what percentage of people may have been exposed without developing symptoms, Mayor Martin J. Walsh said Sunday. Walsh said the tests will focus on East Boston, Roslindale, and parts of Dorchester ― which are among the city's hard-hit neighborhoods."
- "Racial Disparities Continue Among Boston's Reported COVID-19 Cases," by Shannon Dooling, WBUR: "Reported COVID-19 cases in Boston increased 46% since last week, according to a new report from the city's public health commission. Black residents make up nearly 42% of the positive cases reported despite making up 25% of the population, according to census data. Boston's Dorchester neighborhood has reported the most cases of the coronavirus with 1,911."
- "With patients fearful, medical visits — and revenues — plummet," by Priyanka Dayal McCluskey, Boston Globe: "Health care visits unrelated to the coronavirus have dropped precipitously in the past month, according to new data — a troubling indicator that many people are going without needed care for fear of contracting the potentially deadly virus. The sudden drop in business also has severe financial implications for health care providers as they weather the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."
- "Hairstylists in Massachusetts, who seized the opportunity to be their own bosses, are now stuck waiting for unemployment," by Steph Solis, MassLive.com: "The hair care products left behind in La Ruche, the salon she and Jana Soulor own, have likely gone bad. In the past month, they have applied for small business loans from the federal government. They haven't heard back. The worst part? Neither the co-owners nor the other hairstylists at La Ruche could apply for unemployment until Monday."
- "Boston Archdiocese Sends Priests To Bless Dying COVID-19 Patients In Area Hospitals," by Tori Bedford, WGBH News: "The Boston Archdiocese is organizing teams of priests to provide the Sacrament of the Sick, a traditional Catholic anointing end-of-life ceremony, to COVID-19 patients at hospitals around the state. M.C. Sullivan, a former nurse and the Chief Healthcare Ethicist for the Archdiocese of Boston, organized the program, which includes nearly every single hospital in the state's Catholic network."
- "Face mask police: Boston lights up BOS:311," by Rick Sobey, Boston Herald: "Big Facemask Brother is watching. The coronavirus social-distancing mask police are on the job. BOS:311 — the website and app where city residents report nonemergency issues such as graffiti and potholes — is now full of posts with diligent citizens complaining about people violating social distancing 6-feet guidelines, along with reports of people not wearing masks in public."
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| PRIMARY SOURCES |
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- "Pressure builds for mail-in voting," by Christian M. Wade, Eagle-Tribune: "State officials are being pressured to allow more voters to cast their ballots by mail amid concern the COVID-19 outbreak will dampen participation in elections. Voting rights and public interest groups are urging the state to switch as much as possible to voting by mail for the state primary in September and general election in November."
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| PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES |
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- "The suffocating crowded T of old won't be returning anytime soon after the coronavirus lockdown ends," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "With the Boston area looking ahead to a post-surge recovery from the pandemic, the MBTA of old — mob scenes at stations, hyper-crowded commutes — is unlikely to return in that form anytime soon. Masks will probably be considered as essential as a CharlieCard, and vehicles may be more empty than packed. Many white-collar workers might even be told to continue working from home if they can."
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "New coronavirus legislation could include another round of stimulus checks, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal says," by Jim Kinney, Springfield Republican: "Fresh off the House floor managing the most recent coronavirus response bill at the Capitol, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said Saturday that Americans will likely see yet another stimulus bill in as little as 10 days. 'We've already been working on it,' Neal, a Springfield Democrat and chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means said following a news conference with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito."
- "Rep. Ayanna Pressley Calls For Racial Data On Coronavirus Business Loans," by Ken Cooper, WGBH News: "Rep. Ayanna Pressley says she and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus are pushing the Treasury Department to collect racial data on who is receiving small business loans to keep their employees on the payroll. Under the CARES Act passed last month, $349 billion in potentially forgivable loans have been distributed through private banks to enterprises with fewer than 500 employees that have sustained financial losses because of the pandemic."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERO!" "PRESSURE ON TO PUNISH CHINA," — Globe: "New test plan seeks scope of virus in city," "What's in store? An altered landscape, perhaps littered with failed outlets." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Morse calls for state takeover of nursing homes," by Shira Schoenberg, CommonWealth Magazine: "In an interview on Friday, Morse said he has learned over the last five weeks that long-term care facilities, regardless of their ownership structure, are not equipped to deal with the coronavirus. He is calling for a state takeover of the facilities. 'We're seeing quite clearly in Holyoke the impact of this virus on nursing homes and I'm not convinced...that our nursing homes and facilities are equipped to prevent outbreak and keep people as safe as possible,' Morse said."
- "Passage of remote signing bill will smooth estate matters," by Michael Connors, Daily Hampshire Gazette: "Lawmakers on Beacon Hill approved legislation last Thursday that allows for notary publics to conduct services over videoconference for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, and at least one local legislator and estate planning attorney are praising its passage."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Paycheck Protection Program, community banks a 'lifeline' for Central Mass. businesses," by Cyrus Moulton, Telegram & Gazette: "It's been criticized for its rollout and for some of its very notable recipients. It also ran out of funds pretty quickly. But for one local business, the Small Business Administration's Paycheck Protection Program — a federal loan program aimed at relieving small businesses and organizations affected by the coronavirus pandemic — was a 'lifeline.'"
- "Coronavirus creates fraught situation at South Shore nursing homes," by Joe DiFazio, The Patriot Ledger: "Despite living only a four minute drive away, Sarah Goetz has not been able to see her father, who lives at the John Scott House nursing home in Braintree, for the past few weeks. The 85-year-old Joke Gee has been quarantined and has come down with COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. 'Sometimes I just drive by to be near him,' Goetz, of Braintree, said."
- "Plugging in: Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert produces hard rock videos during coronavirus," by Cesareo Contreras, MetroWest Daily News: "Residents wouldn't typically expect to see the town manager of Ashland shredding it out on their Facebook feeds, but that's exactly what they saw on April 19 - the inaugural video of Herbert's Hair Band Tribute Challenge. Every week, or every other week depending on his availability, Herbert plans to upload a video on Facebook of him mastering an old rock hit from the 1980s."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Brendan Joyce, Lou Mandarini and Seth Mnookin.
NEW EPISODE: THE HORSE RACE HAPPY HOUR - On this week's Horse Race podcast, hosts Steve Koczela, Jennifer Smith and Stephanie Murray speak with Katie Lannan of the State House News Service about covering the Legislature during a pandemic, and Dan Cence of Solomon McCown & Cence about communicating during a crisis. Subscribe and listen on iTunes and Sound Cloud .
Want to make an impact? POLITICO Massachusetts has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Bay State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you're promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness among this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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