'There's A Lot At Stake': Gov. Baker Urges Residents To Wear Masks During Memorial Day Weekend
LAWRENCE (CBS) -- Gov. Charlie Baker reminded residents to "please be careful and respect the virus" during the Memorial Day weekend. The state is still under a safer-at-home advisory due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"People have worked really hard and given up a tremendous amount over the course of the past eight or ten weeks to bend the trend on this, and we succeeded," Baker said. "Don't let a few nice days step on that. We need to continue to make the kind of progress that we've all made in battling this thing for the past two or three months."
The governor acknowledged Memorial Day is often a day spend with family. "Family usually means things like moms and dads, and in some cases, grandmas and grandpas. Wear a face covering, not only for yourself but for the people you come in contact with," he said.
"This is not about vanity folks. It's about the safety and the health of your friends and your families, and it's about our ability as a Commonwealth, to continue to move forward on a phased basis and make it possible for a lot of people who lost their jobs... through no fault of their own to maybe have a chance to go back to work. There's a lot at stake here!"
Baker also touched upon the meaning behind the long weekend. "It's Memorial Day weekend. There are a lot of people who died for your right to live in a free democracy here in the United States, here in Massachusetts," he said.
"If you don't want to wear a mask because you don't like wearing a mask; if you don't want to social distance because you don't want to social distance; please think about those families, those moms and dads, those brothers and sisters, those sons and daughters, those who lost their lives fighting for your freedom to put on that mask. Just do it for them. Socially distance for them. Wash your hands for them."
State beaches will be open Monday with restrictions for visitors and managers.