Baker: Density Playing Role In Gradual Statewide Reopening

Massachusetts must proceed with a gradual phased reopening as a statewide policy because of its relatively widespread population density and the interconnected nature of most of its economy, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday.

During a live interview on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio," Baker said he looks at state-by-state data frequently, and noted that four states hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak — New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut — all have high volumes of residents close together.

Some commenters have asked why the administration is planning a slow ramp-up for the entire state, Baker said, rather than impose widely different policies for the capital and less dense regions around it.

"We're a heck of a lot smaller geographically than New York is or Pennsylvania or some of these other states, and we have people everywhere," he said. "We're not as open spaced -- we're way denser than most of these other places, and that factors in a big way as to whether you can do stuff regionally or not."

The interview also touched on topics such as testing capacity, MBTA crowding and the highly infectious virus's impact on long-term care facilities.

Asked about the outbreak that killed dozens of veterans living at the Holyoke Soldiers Home, Baker pointed to multiple ongoing investigations and said he is "not going to talk to these issues until I see the report."