Yes, coronavirus still dominates the news in Massachusetts and across the globe. You’re probably already aware that there are now more than 80,000 cases of COVID-19 in the Bay State and more than 5,000 deaths according to health officials. And the most recent models predict total deaths in Mass. due to COVID-19 to increase by 50 percent over the next four weeks approaching 8,000 by mid June.
Meanwhile, closures in the state have resulted in more than 1 million unemployment claims in Mass. since March 15. That’s more than one quarter of the state’s entire labor force.
Some good news is starting to percolate up, however.
First, Governor Charlie Baker has announced plans to significantly increase testing for coronavirus in Mass. We’re not talking about incremental increases. The governor claims that the proposed plans will increase testing in Mass. to the highest per capita testing rate in the world with upwards of 45,000 tests per day by the end of July and 75,000 per day by the end of December.
Currently, the state has the capacity to test around 35,000 residents per day. And as of the middle of this past week, more than 400,000 people have been tested for the virus.
Moreover, Gov. Baker outlined a four-phase reopening plan for the state. The plan calls for a gradual reopening of the economy beginning as early as May 18.
And there’s more good news.
According to a report in the Boston Globe, deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 may be trending downward in Massachusetts.
Businesses Express “Guarded Optimism”
The Globe also reports that polls conducted by two business groups in the state are showing “guarded optimism.”
“No one expects the boom times we enjoyed as recently as a few months ago to return anytime soon,” writes the report’s author. “And few business leaders seem eager to rush their employees back to the office, either, even if Governor Charlie Baker gives the green light on Monday. But most are planning for stable or growing employment, not more job cuts, if these poll results are to be believed.”
The reporter made a point of mentioning that only a small number of respondents come from the retail and hospitality sectors, “two of the hardest hit by the pandemic.”
More than half of the respondents said they are currently operating. And 51 percent of companies that laid off or furloughed employees say they plan to bring all of those employees back.
Source: U.S. Labor Department, Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (Callum Borchers/WBUR)
Residents Experiencing “Quarantine Fatigue”
Travel is also on the rise and Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack attributes the rise in miles traveled by car to a new form of cabin fever.
"There is a phenomenon that has been dubbed 'quarantine fatigue' in which people are sort of getting tired of being home. This may indicate that we are seeing some quarantine fatigue because we are seeing an uptick in travel even though we have not begun to open the Massachusetts economy."
Travel is still down 50 to 70 percent in Massachusetts according to MassDOT data, says Pollack.
Maine Regulators Approve Energy Pipeline
Maine regulators have approved a $1 billion utility transmission project that will facilitate the flow of 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydropower into the New England power grid. We’ve written about this project in previous reports.
Although most of the 145-mile (233-kilometer) power line will follow existing utility corridors, the state will need to clear a 50-mile swath of wilderness owned by Central Maine Power in western Maine.
According to the report, under the proposed plan, “the Department of Environmental Protection’s permit requires Central Maine Power to take measures to mitigate the visual and wildlife impact, and to permanently conserve 40,000 acres to offset the environmental impacts,” adding that the permit also requires “nearly $1.9 million for culvert replacement projects, the conservation of 700 acres of deer wintering habitat, and a prohibition on herbicides.”
Supporters of the project say it will “reduce reliance on fossil fuels, lower carbon emissions and stabilize electricity costs across the region — at no cost to Mainers.”
Critics, however, say “the environmental benefits are overstated and the project would do irrevocable harm to a large swath of Maine wilderness.”
Mass. Inches Closer to Recreational Cannabis Delivery
As we’ve also been reporting for several weeks now, recreational marijuana dispensaries in Massachusetts have been shuttered during coronavirus outbreak. However, state officials have announced that they will soon be permitting home delivery of recreational cannabis products in Mass.
According to a report in the Globe, the Cannabis Control Commission will make delivery license applications available starting May 28.
Applications will be available to third-party delivery operations as well as “marijuana micro-businesses hoping to deliver their own product.”