Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday he will work in close cooperation with other states in the region in developing a plan to reopen the economy, but he cautioned against loosening the social distancing advisories too soon.
At a press conference from the field medical station being deployed by the National Guard in Buzzards Bay, Baker said it is going to be important for states in the region to coordinate and cooperate in their plans for reopening after the coronavirus surge is over.
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Given the extraordinary amount of commercial and personal travel between New England states, Baker said, "We want to make sure everybody's aware of what everybody else is talking about, working on and planning."
But Baker also said any plan to reopen the economy will have to await the implementation of a comprehensive system of testing to identify people who are infected and tracing to identify to whom they may have spread the disease.
Any effort to reopen the state too early would "squander a lot of the progress we've made," Baker said.
While he plans to coordinate with neighboring states, Baker said, his administration's response "will always put the needs of the people of Massachusetts first."
