Meliss Jocelyn, RN, speaks during Gov. Charlie D. Baker’s Dec. 15, 2020 press conference. (SCREENSHOT)
Residents urged not to gather for holidays
BOSTON – Gov. Charlie D. Baker Dec. 15 implored Massachusetts residents to remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19 and to learn from the post-Thanksgiving spike and stay home for the holidays.
Baker, along with Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders and Massachusetts General Hospital Registered Nurse Melissa Jocelyn spoke during a press conference about vaccines, the increase in cases since Thanksgiving and celebrating the holidays much differently this year.
Baker said despite weeks’ worth of warnings not to gather for Thanksgiving, many people did just that and the number of positive cases increased drastically. The pre-Thanksgiving daily average was roughly 2,400 new cases.
“The seven-day average on Dec. 1 was about 2,444 cases,” Baker said. “Eight days later – 13 days after Thanksgiving – it doubled to nearly 4,800 cases per day.”
Baker said Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas and New Year’s gatherings should be cancelled.
“We can’t have them be the kind of consequential event that Thanksgiving was in Massachusetts and we need the help of everybody so we don’t have a repeat . . . we just saw that movie,” he said.
Baker said it is a sacrifice made now so that next year there will be a return to the normal celebrations and asked residents to celebrate only with those living in their household.
“This is once,” he said. “One time, one month, for one year. Next year we will probably be able to celebrate the holidays like we used to, but not this year.”
Sudders echoed Baker’s remarks and said people need to modify their holidays, suggesting virtual carol singing, preparing meals at home and dropping off plates to people’s doorsteps and using low-risk shopping options.
Baker, Sudders and Jocelyn all expressed concern about the potential strain on hospitals across the state. While half of Massachusetts residents who tested positive for the virus have no or few symptoms, half became very ill. Baker said currently there are 1,788 COVID-19 positive patients in hospitals in the Commonwealth, with 354 of them in intensive care.
“Prior to Thanksgiving, our positive test rate was around 2-3%. The current test rate is 5.7%,” he said, adding that this has contributed to an influx of hospitalizations. “This 84% increase, I don’t need to tell anybody, are not just numbers. Families have lost loved ones, people’s lives have been shattered . . . this thing’s for real.”
Baker said “hope is around the corner in dry ice in the form of the vaccine.” He said Massachusetts began receiving vaccines this week and expects 300,000 by the end of the year.
Baker said everyone needs to remain diligent in wearing masks, avoiding gatherings, distancing from one another and following good hygiene. He said following those guidelines and getting vaccinated when available also helps keep healthcare workers safe.
“We need to protect them, too,” he said. “We know it’s been a lot. It has been a very long year but there’s hope on the horizon.”
Jocelyn pleaded with citizens to keep their guard up and not have a “sense of premature normalcy.”
“We know you’re tired,” she said. “We are tired, too. We are tired of seeing people dying, on breathing machines, even dying alone.”
Jocelyn said she is “gravely concerned” that hospitals are becoming overwhelmed during this second surge and said private gatherings have greatly contributed to numbers because people let their guard down.
“I’m asking – even begging – everyone to follow guidelines and not gather,” she said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we are still in the tunnel.”
Sudders said hospitals have determined which employees will receive vaccinations first and CVS and Walgreen’s are assisting with vaccinating those in nursing and other ambulatory care facilities on or around Dec. 28. She also said that she does not expect the snowstorm to hinder vaccine delivery.
