• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
Charlie Baker responds to report that feds initially downplayed coronavirus to Massachusetts officials thumbnail

Charlie Baker responds to report that feds initially downplayed coronavirus to Massachusetts officials

July 24, 2020
FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population thumbnail

FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population

May 22, 2025

Rare May nor’easter brings rain and chance of snow to New England before Memorial Day

May 22, 2025
Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers thumbnail

Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers

May 22, 2025
Resentment of ICE, backlash against its agents and mission rise alongside Democrats' condemnations thumbnail

Resentment of ICE, backlash against its agents and mission rise alongside Democrats’ condemnations

May 22, 2025
Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles thumbnail

Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles

May 22, 2025
New England Patriots offseason grades: Team earns high marks for supporting Drake Maye thumbnail

New England Patriots offseason grades: Team earns high marks for supporting Drake Maye

May 21, 2025
Bill Belichick asked Jordon Hudson to wear a specific outfit when their relationship was still a secret thumbnail

Bill Belichick asked Jordon Hudson to wear a specific outfit when their relationship was still a secret

May 21, 2025
Rob Gronkowski bursts out laughing at joke about Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson thumbnail

Rob Gronkowski bursts out laughing at joke about Bill Belichick’s 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson

May 20, 2025
US charges 12 more suspects linked to $230 million crypto theft thumbnail

US charges 12 more suspects linked to $230 million crypto theft

May 17, 2025
American basketball player in Indonesia could face death penalty over alleged drug smuggling thumbnail

American basketball player in Indonesia could face death penalty over alleged drug smuggling

May 17, 2025
What the EPA’s partial rollback of the ‘forever chemical’ drinking water rule means thumbnail

What the EPA’s partial rollback of the ‘forever chemical’ drinking water rule means

May 16, 2025
Senate Dems ask AG Bondi to investigate Musk-owned Starlink deals thumbnail

Senate Dems ask AG Bondi to investigate Musk-owned Starlink deals

May 16, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
  • Donate
Thursday, May 22, 2025
66 °f
Wellfleet
58 ° Tue
63 ° Wed
68 ° Thu
61 ° Fri
  • Login
  • Register
FREE Cape Cod News
DONATE
  • FREE Cape Cod News
  • Cape Cod News
  • News
    • News
    • Massachusetts
    • Breaking News
    • Cape Cod Weather
    • Storm Watch
    • Environment
  • Politics
    • democrats
    • republicans
  • Business
    • business
    • cryptocurrency
    • economy
    • money
    • Real Estate
    • Tech
  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Photos
    • Orleans
    • Eastham
    • Wellfleet
    • Truro
    • Provincetown
    • Brewster
    • Chatham
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
Free Cape Cod News
No Result
View All Result
  • FREE Cape Cod News
  • Cape Cod News
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Photos
  • Videos
Home Lifestyle Fitness / Health Coronavirus

Charlie Baker responds to report that feds initially downplayed coronavirus to Massachusetts officials

FREE Cape Cod News by FREE Cape Cod News
July 24, 2020
in Coronavirus
Reading Time: 4 mins read
Donate
0
Charlie Baker responds to report that feds initially downplayed coronavirus to Massachusetts officials thumbnail
633
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on TwitterShare on Facebook

Gov. Charlie Baker has vented about some of his office’s “difficult” interactions with President Donald Trump’s administration during the early weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak.

But in the wake of a new report Wednesday that showed federal officials privately downplayed the threat of the coronavirus to Massachusetts, the governor said he was hesitant to assign blame, amid swirling uncertainty about the nature of the virus.

“There was a lot of mixed signals coming from a lot of places all the way through the early part of this,” Baker said during a press conference Wednesday, noting that officials were still trying to learn about COVID-19 and how the virus spread.

“I hesitate to point too many fingers because we have continued to learn about this as we’ve gone along,” he added.

According to the WBUR report Wednesday, federal officials repeatedly downplayed the risk of the coronavirus in emails to state officials between January and mid-March, when cases began to rise dramatically in Massachusetts.

According to the more than 115 emails obtained and reviewed by WBUR, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed in February that the coronavirus was “not spreading in the community in the United States at this time” and that the “greater risk is for people who have recently traveled to China or their close contacts.”

In a Feb. 27 email — weeks after Baker’s administration outlined the potential need for protective equipment, like N95 masks, gloves, and gowns, in an email to federal health officials — the Food and Drug Administration “assured” states that they would “use all available tools to react swiftly to mitigate the impact” of any potential shortage of such supplies.

Those assurances did not ultimately reflect reality.

Subsequent studies by the CDC and Northeastern University concluded that the coronavirus was already quietly spreading as early as January. And acquiring the requisite amount of protective gear for the healthcare system and other frontline workers became a major frustration for Massachusetts and other states, which were forced to compete with each other amid a shortage of supplies and a dwindling national stockpile.

Yet, the emails — which came amid Trump’s public and private resistance to aggressive action to stop the spread — continued to state the risk of the disease was “low” for most Americans.

Massachusetts has reported a total 108,882 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,054 deaths due to the disease. However, the initially hard-hit state has since seen the rate of positive test and deaths drop roughly 90 percent since April.

Massachusetts has also reported the lowest COVID-19 transmission rate in the country, which Baker credited Wednesday to “incredibly good” compliance among Bay Staters with social distancing and face coverings, among other public health guidances.

Still, commenting on the WBUR report, he noted that some of the top public health experts “have changed their tune” about best practices.

For example, Baker noted how even Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, initially said Americans shouldn’t wear masks due to the shortage in the healthcare industry and before officials understood the level of symptomatic spread. Federal officials have since increasingly implored Americans to wear masks in public, in order to allow the country to reopen more quickly.

“Back in February and March, Dr. Fauci didn’t think you needed to wear a mask,” Baker said.

“I view him as probably one of the most credible people on this issue you’re gonna find anywhere in the country,” the governor continued. “He changed his mind when people started to realize how big the asymptomatic element that could spread the virus was associated with COVID.”

More importantly, Baker said the state now has important tools in place to respond to the disease, from testing to contract tracing to PPE.

“There are a lot of things, when this thing got started, I felt like we were playing catch up on every single day and I think, as I said several times, I hope we all learn the lessons — not just here in Massachusetts, not just in Boston, but across the country and hopefully around the globe — about what you need in place as your key elements to battle this as we go forward,” he said.

Baker also suggested that when it comes to public health advice, state officials were more likely to rely on the depth of health expertise in Massachusetts.

“We’ve developed a lot of relationships with many of the infectious disease and epidemiological folks who are here in Massachusetts and they are, in many respects, the first people we call when we’re looking for guidance and advice on a lot of these issues,” Baker said.


Get Boston.com’s e-mail alerts:

Sign up and receive coronavirus news and breaking updates, from our newsroom to your inbox.

Read More

FREE Digital Newspaper Subscription!
Sign up for your free digital subscription. The FREE Cape Cod News

Unsubscribe
FREE Cape Cod News

FREE Cape Cod News

Free Cape Cod News is what's happening in the Cape Cod, U.S and World & what people are talking about right now. Local newspaper. Stay in the know. Subscribe to get notified about our latest news.

Related Posts

Surge in Vaccine Lawsuits Forces Biden Admin to Hire More Attorneys thumbnail
Coronavirus

Surge in Vaccine Lawsuits Forces Biden Admin to Hire More Attorneys

by FREE Cape Cod News
November 16, 2023
NY state health agency considers nixed COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers thumbnail
Coronavirus

NY state health agency considers nixed COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers

by FREE Cape Cod News
January 19, 2023
U.S. considers new Covid rules for travelers from China amid surge in cases thumbnail
Coronavirus

U.S. considers new Covid rules for travelers from China amid surge in cases

by FREE Cape Cod News
December 29, 2022
Lab-Made Covid-19 Coronavirus At Boston University Raises Questions thumbnail
Breaking News

Lab-Made Covid-19 Coronavirus At Boston University Raises Questions

by FREE Cape Cod News
October 20, 2022
Load More
Please login to join discussion

Follow Us on Twitter

FREE Cape Cod News - Your source for local Cape Cod news, latest breaking U.S. and World news. Every day, all day. Subscribe for your favorite categories.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Resentment of ICE, backlash against its agents and mission rise alongside Democrats' condemnations thumbnail

Resentment of ICE, backlash against its agents and mission rise alongside Democrats’ condemnations

May 22, 2025
Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers thumbnail

Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers

May 22, 2025
Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles thumbnail

Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles

May 22, 2025

Rare May nor’easter brings rain and chance of snow to New England before Memorial Day

0
FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population thumbnail

FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population

0
New England Patriots offseason grades: Team earns high marks for supporting Drake Maye thumbnail

New England Patriots offseason grades: Team earns high marks for supporting Drake Maye

0
FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population thumbnail

FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population

May 22, 2025

Rare May nor’easter brings rain and chance of snow to New England before Memorial Day

May 22, 2025
Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers thumbnail

Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers

May 22, 2025

FREE Cape Cod News On Twitter

Today’s News

  • FDA won’t approve COVID shot for healthy, non-elderly population May 22, 2025
  • Rare May nor’easter brings rain and chance of snow to New England before Memorial Day May 22, 2025
  • Coinbase says recent data breach impacts 69,461 customers May 22, 2025
  • Resentment of ICE, backlash against its agents and mission rise alongside Democrats’ condemnations May 22, 2025
  • Humpback whales can give birth while migrating thousands of miles May 22, 2025
FREE Cape Cod News

Copyright © 2024 Free Cape Cod News

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
  • Donate

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • FREE Cape Cod News
  • Cape Cod News
  • News
    • News
    • Massachusetts
    • Breaking News
    • Cape Cod Weather
    • Storm Watch
    • Environment
  • Politics
    • democrats
    • republicans
  • Business
    • business
    • cryptocurrency
    • economy
    • money
    • Real Estate
    • Tech
  • World
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Photos
    • Orleans
    • Eastham
    • Wellfleet
    • Truro
    • Provincetown
    • Brewster
    • Chatham
  • Videos
  • Login
  • Sign Up

Copyright © 2024 Free Cape Cod News