Video: Charlie Baker’s update on coronavirus in Massachusetts on Wednesday

Governor Charlie Baker closed 2020 with a final press conference on COVID-19 on Wednesday – and what might be a familiar message to Massachusetts residents ahead of the New Year’s holidays.

On the penultimate day of the year, Baker reminded residents of the rules and guidelines discouraging private gatherings with people outside their immediate social circle. Or as Marylou Sudders, Secretary of Health and Human Services said, “Practice bubble loyalty, celebrate small and see you in 2021”

“As we approach the New Years to bring 2020 to a close – finally,” said Baker, banging his fists on the podium in the State House auditorium, “we again urge everyone, if they can, to stay home. Please don’t have big New Years gatherings at your house and try to spend time with people you live with. “

Baker said any gathering with people outside of his home is best kept “outside” and “brief”.

“Wear a mask, be smart, and recognize and understand that in many ways the fastest spread in this particular situation will be one that involves informal circumstances and situations where people let their guard down,” he said. he declares.

His comments come as Massachusetts could be on the verge of another increase after the vacation of infections, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. Logan Airport in Boston recorded the highest number of daily travelers since the start of the pandemic in the run up to Christmas, although levels were still down from previous years.

The Baker administration had urged residents not to celebrate winter holidays with people outside their homes, after Massachusetts saw a significant increase in coronavirus rates after Thanksgiving.

“We obviously begged everyone, for weeks, to stay home for the holidays, just for this year,” Baker said Wednesday. “We also know how difficult it can be for everyone, especially given all the sacrifices people have made for most of the past 10 months. So to everyone who has stayed at home, I just want to say thank you on behalf of the administration and many people who work in our healthcare community, who continue to be some of the toughest during this difficult time. .

After ordering a phase-out of the state’s reopening plan and tightening face coverage requirements for restaurants, gyms and offices, Baker also lowered capacity limits for most businesses last week to 25 % of their maximum legal occupancy in response to increased levels of COVID-19.

Still, he said on Wednesday that rising COVID levels “are putting tremendous pressure on our health care system” and officials will continue to “assess the data to determine whether future action should be taken.”

The surge in post-Thanksgiving cases – which averaged more than 4,500 new infections a day a day in early December – appeared to slow slightly over the past week. The state reported 3,659 new cases on Tuesday. However, the average seven-day positive test rate in Massachusetts – after hovering around 6% for the first three weeks of the month – started to climb again, reaching 7.6% on Tuesday.

Massachusetts has also seen a steady increase in hospitalizations from COVID-19 over the past two months. The state reported 2,259 hospitalizations on Tuesday, and state hospitals have a capacity of 80 to 90 percent. As of last Saturday, hospitals were ordered to cancel or postpone all elective non-urgent procedures, as long as the delay in treatment did not put the patient’s health at risk.

State officials also announced a $ 668 million relief plan last week for small businesses, such as restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues, which have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

Despite early hurdles in the nationwide rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Massachusetts began immunizing residents and staff of hard-hit long-term care facilities, in addition to frontline healthcare workers, on Monday with their first of the two injections.

Baker acknowledged the hiccups in vaccine distribution, which drew criticism from public health experts and recently resulted in reduced shipments to Massachusetts. But he said he didn’t expect them to affect the long-term schedule. State officials hope to gradually expand the pool of eligible people to those over 65 and essential workers by February, before reaching the general public in the spring.

“It can’t happen fast enough,” Baker said Wednesday. “Having said that, we expected to receive approximately 300,000 doses by the end of the calendar year, and we will be receiving approximately 300,000 doses by the end of the calendar year. I said, when this was first discussed about three or four weeks ago, that I expected the deployment to be bumpy. And it certainly lived up to my expectations in this regard.

While happy to reach the end of 2020, the governor reiterated that the pandemic will not go away any time soon, even though vaccination efforts are underway.

“I know what will be tomorrow night; it’s New Year’s Eve, ”he said. “And I know the start of the New Year, for all of us, is a chance to breathe a deep sigh of relief, but I would just like to ask everyone to continue to be vigilant, to keep your guard and to recognize and understand that the virus is still with us and will remain so for the next few months. “