MA Not Providing Towns Incentive To Test For Coronavirus: Baker

BOSTON — The state's system of designating communities "red" or "high risk" for coronavirus transmission may be discouraging communities from expanding testing, Gov. Charlie Baker said Thursday in a conference call with top local officials from more than 200 Massachusetts communities.

"You don’t need a lot of cases in some communities to go yellow or red,"Baker said in the meeting, which was organized by the Massachusetts Municipal Association. "We’re really not providing communities with the right incentive to test and to test aggressively."

Baker said his administration was working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to change the way it presents case data so it encourages more testing. Officials are expecting more communities to move into the yellow and red categories when the state releases its weekly report on town-by-town coronavirus data on Friday.

Baker's meeting with mayors, town managers and other top local officials came on the eve of new restrictions that took effect at midnight Friday. The new rules aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 come as a weeks-long surge in new infections continues, and include a stay-at-home advisory, stricter mask mandate, business curfew and reduced gathering limits.

The average age of people reporting new infections is now between 30 and 39, down significantly from the first surge in the spring. He said the new rules are aimed at cutting down late-night gatherings, when people are "less disciplined."

Baker suggested the most effective tool in the new set of rules is the requirement that people wear masks whenever they go out in public.

"You really need to wear your mask whenever you’re with people who aren’t part of your network," Baker said. "It is the single greatest weapon … we have in slowing and stopping the transmission of COVID."

Watch the complete Massachusetts Municipal Association meeting.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).