As she explained to local officials the intricacies of bouncing between steps in the state’s phased reopening plan, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito recently shed some light on how the COVID-19 pandemic was first viewed within state government upon its arrival here in February and March.
“When in March we announced state of emergency we thought it would be for a couple of, or a few weeks. Well, it turned into a lot longer journey, and we’ve been in the tunnel for a very long time,” Polito said.
The recent news from three companies who are optimistic about their vaccines offers “some hope and some light at the end of this tunnel,” she said during a Nov. 19 conference call with local officials.
“It’s very hopeful to all of us that that vaccine will be distributed in our communities and across our country in a relatively short period of time from now,” Polito said. “But we still have a distance to go before we get there.”
With confirmed and unconfirmed virus cases rising, Polito also revealed the “number one question” that she and other public officials get from people, either in face-to-face conversations or through texts.
“Are you as a state going to close business? Are you going to lock down? Are you going to roll back?’ I hear this multiple times in a day and I’m sure that you do too,” Polito said.
The answer from the Baker administration? “We want to continue to have a targeted approach to targeting problems and looking at those problems rather than a rollback or closure,” Polito said, touting improvements in testing capacity, hospital readiness, and personal protective equipment stockpiles.
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