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Contrary to perspectives aired by Boston protestors on Monday, a new poll indicates that many Massachusetts residents support Governor Charlie Baker's extension of the state's stay-at-home order.
The poll, conducted by The Boston Globe, Suffolk University and WGBH News, surveyed 500 individuals and was published early Tuesday. Its results demonstrated support for a lengthened lockdown protocol among the majority of respondents, 85 percent of whom said they approved of Baker's decision. A nearly identical fraction of the poll's participants noted their support for the governor's response to the new coronavirus pandemic in general.
However, state mandates aside, Tuesday's report suggested a significant portion of Massachusetts' population is hesitant to reenter certain public spaces in the absence of a proven vaccine. As The Boston Globe acknowledged in its analysis, most of the poll's respondents said they would not feel comfortable attending sporting events, concerts, stage performances or movie showings, nor would they use public transportation or fitness facilities, even if restrictions were lifted.
Massachusetts has experienced one of the most severe outbreak's in the United States, confirming the third-highest number of total cases behind New York and New Jersey. As of Tuesday morning, at least 69,087 cases of the new coronavirus have been diagnosed in the state since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University's tracker. Of those who have contracted the illness, 4,090 people have died.
Although the state has reported fewer additional cases of the disease in recent days than it had been toward the end of April, figures shared by Massachusetts' Department of Health show the coronavirus' impact remains considerable, with close to 6,000 new diagnoses confirmed between May 1 and May 3.
Massachusetts' daily case counts were higher during the final days of April, prompting Baker to extend his administration's emergency order closing nonessential businesses and advising residents to stay home through May 18. In conjunction with the extension, issued on April 28, Baker created an advisory board to determine the next steps toward restarting Massachusetts' economy. On Monday, the governor called for continued mitigation efforts statewide in order to launch a reopening strategy.
"We do believe and buy into the guidance that we've gotten from experts in the field that you need to see downward trends in a number of key indices associated with this virus for some period of time before you can actually reopen," he explained, as crowds of protestors gathered outside Massachusetts' State House in Boston to push for an end to the stay-at-home order, which was initially set to expire on Monday.
Photos shared to social media pictured hundreds of demonstrators holding signs that referred to Baker's order as an act of "tyranny" and demanded state administrators allow businesses to reopen. Though the governor issued an additional mandate on Friday requiring all Massachusetts residents to wear face coverings in public areas where social distancing is not possible, many protestors were seen without masks on Monday, despite standing closer than 6 feet apart.
