Going into Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Charlie Baker had strong words Friday for those who may object to wearing a face covering or don’t want …
Going into Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Charlie Baker had strong words Friday for those who may object to wearing a face covering or don’t want to practice social distancing to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
“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,” Baker said during a press conference in Lawrence. “Those people stood up, put on a uniform — most of them volunteered — and marched directly into the field and the theater of combat. And Memorial Day is when we celebrate the ones who didn’t make it home and their families. 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 of those who lost their lives fighting for your freedom to put on that mask — just do it for them. Socially distance for them. Wash for your hands for them. Because if they were here, they would be doing the same thing.”
The governor emphasized the importance of being careful and respecting the “power of the contagion of the virus” going into the holiday weekend and the reopening of beaches on Monday. Social distancing, face coverings, and frequent hand washing and sanitizing remain paramount in preventing new transmissions, he said, as the state undertakes the first of four phases of reopening.
