Baker declares state of emergency as COVID-19 cases jump to 92

Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts Tuesday, lifting attendance and school year requirements should a community need to close its public schools due to coronavirus outbreaks and calling for a limit to large events.

The total number of confirmed and presumptive cases in the state is now 92, including the first case of COVID-19 in Worcester County.

“This declaration will give our administration more flexibility to respond to this evolving outbreak,” Baker said in a televised press conference. “In addition to the state of emergency, our administration is moving forward with enhanced guidance for employers and large organizations. Responding to this evolving health threat requires everyone to be vigilant and for everyone to be part of this effort.”

Person-to-person infection is beginning to occur in Massachusetts, officials said, spreading beyond people who contracted the disease overseas. Several public events, including Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade, have been canceled for fear of transmission.

Employers throughout the state were asked to discontinue work-related travel, both foreign and domestic, and encourage telecommuting whenever possible. He emphasized that any person feeling sick should stay home from work.

Grafton High School has already canceled its April vacation trip to Europe.

Many colleges, including Harvard University, are sending students home with the plan to continue classes online.

“The purpose of moving forward with these measures now is to act before the numbers increase to a point where the virus spread is severely impacting the commonwealth,” Baker said. “The highly contagious nature of this disease means that if everyone plays their part in slowing the spread, the number of people who become infected and require medical attention doesn’t spike all at once, which would overwhelm many of our systems.”

The T will now be cleaning all high-contact surfaces at subway stations every four hours. In Grafton, Town Administrator Tim McInerney told the Select Board last week that Municipal Center employees are regularly cleaning countertops and door knobs and the hallways are stocked with hand sanitizer.

Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders stressed that vulnerable populations — the elderly, pregnant and immunosuppressed — should avoid large gatherings.

Sudders said that nursing homes and rest homes “will be directed to actively screen and restrict access to visitors to ensure the safety and health of residents and staff.”

No visitors who display signs of illness should be permitted to enter nursing homes, she said.

“Visitor access will also be restricted to anyone who had international travel within the last 14 days and individuals who are residing in a community where community based spread of COVID-19 is occurring,” Sudders said.

“For the vast majority of people who contract this disease, it is not deadly,” Baker stressed. “And the latest research shows that children and young people are at an especially low risk of health complications. But we must step up these mitigation efforts to avoid large numbers of people requiring medical care all at the same time.”