gov. charlie baker

Health professionals in Massachusetts are requesting that the administration of Gov. Charlie Baker implement universal masking in schools for the 2021-2022 school year. In two letters sent to Baker, physicians and health experts urged the governor to mandate masks in schools for the upcoming year, citing a recommendation issued this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as…

The House on Tuesday rejected Gov. Charlie Baker’s request to immediately spend $2.8 billion in federal COVID-19 relief money, choosing to follow through with the plan of Democratic leaders to sweep most of the $5.3 billion the state received into a separate fund as they consider how to deploy the money. The action by the House reflects not only a…

As of midnight Saturday, Gov. Charlie Baker’s mask mandate is no more and all remaining COVID-19 restrictions in Massachusetts have been lifted. In place of the mask mandate, the Department of Public Health has issued a new mask advisory in line with CDC guidance. This means if you’re fully vaccinated, you do not have to wear a mask inside...

The mask mandate has been replaced with a mask advisory under CDC guidelines.

When Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker called up 1,000 members of the state’s National Guard in August, state Rep. Mindy Domb, like many others in the state, wanted more information. The administration at first offered little explanation as to why Baker activated members of the National Guard, and the order did not offer a detailed reasoning. At a press conference a few...

After a slow start, Massachusetts’ vaccination campaign has accelerated over the past month, and the state is now among national leaders.

Legislative leaders on Friday outlined plans to advance a $400 million bill funding the construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers Home but it’s unclear if their timeline will be fast enough to quickly secure federal funding. The House plans to vote next week on the bill — a formal session is planned on Thursday — and legislative leaders indicated they…

Fenway Park may be the smallest stadium in baseball, but it’s had an outsized impact for public health over the past two months. Usually in hibernation from its primary operations over winter months, Fenway opened its doors at the end of January to serve as the second mass vaccination site in Massachusetts. Since a soft launch on Jan. 29, more…

Explaining childcare during the COVID-19 pandemic is a tough assignment — even for some educators. “It’s been really, really … oh my god. A challenge. That’s the word. A challenge,” said Dania Gil, one such educator at a private learning center in Roxbury. “A lot of people have had COVID,” she says. “That’s how we’ve been impacted and one...

The state will be phasing in students to in-person learning starting with elementary schools in April.

The Natick Mall opened as the state’s newest mass vaccination site Monday, joining four others already up and running for residents eligible to receive their shots. The Natick site, served by LabCorp, plans to start administering around 100 doses of the vaccine a day in the old Sears store. Officials hope to give about 5,000 doses a day by mid-March….

As Massachusetts crosses an important vaccine milestone this weekend, it is soon taking another step to further expedite the statewide inoculation process. Starting Monday, Natick Mall opens as the state’s newest mass vaccination site, joining four others already up and running for residents eligible to receive their shots. The Natick site, served by LabCorp, will plan to start giving...

Now that Massachusetts has expanded vaccine eligibility to residents 65 or older, many are looking ahead to the next groups to be included – and those who some believe should have been prioritized sooner. Trish Bourassa, a flight attendant from Sturbridge, says she was turned away from trying to get a vaccine at a local hospital, which told her flight…

As the state’s vaccine rollout continues, local flight attendant Trish Bourassa is concerned she and her coworkers are being overlook. This comes after she was turned away from being vaccinated.

Legislators are asking Gov. Baker to hold off on the companion system that he has intituted. They feel that people 65 and older should be vaccinated first.

Widespread confusion involving both Massachusetts’ online coronavirus vaccination portal and its new hotline continues to hamper efforts to rapidly inoculate eligible seniors, less than a week after state guidelines allowed the vulnerable population to receive a vaccination.  Seniors turned out in droves across the state on Saturday, many of them with appointments that still didn’t guarantee a vaccination. In...

Massachusetts health officials early this week announced its first confirmed case of the new, more contagious COVID variant amid concerns that mutations to the virus could worsen the pandemic. While the state had only confirmed one case of the new variant, initially detected in the United Kingdom, health experts say it has likely been circulating in the state for weeks….

Scuttling what looked to be a major session-ending accomplishment for the Massachusetts Legislature, Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday said he would veto ambitious climate legislation over his concerns that key pieces of the bill could stymie housing construction.

Manufacturers and retailers in Massachusetts will be banned from selling or importing covered products like bedding, furniture, children’s products, window treatments and carpeting that contain 11 flame-retardant chemicals under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Charlie Baker. The new law, which does not apply to inventory manufactured prior to Dec. 31, 2021, was celebrated by supporters who have pushed for its…

The Baker Administration on Thursday announced nearly $68 million in awards to hundreds of small businesses in the second round of grants through Massachusetts’ COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program. The program, administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation, will award a total of $67.4 million to 1,366 small businesses, the Baker Administration said. Last week, Gov. Charlie Baker said qualifying…