A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling this week lifted the stay-at-home order the Democratic governor had put in place, immediately easing restrictions on bars, restaurants and other businesses. Photos and news coverage showed some locations with dozens of people sitting shoulder to shoulder.
WGBH's Emily Rooney said on Boston Public Radio on Friday that the people who showed up at bars immediately weren't there just to celebrate the reopening of their favorite local businesses. They were there for political reasons, she said.
"It was raucus, people were cheering. It wasn't they were cheering the bar was open," she said. "They were cheering they had defied a government order, that's what it was about."
Rooney said she believes Massachusetts' inevitable reopening will go smoother, and has faith that restaurants will open safely.
"If something opens here, a restaurant or a bar or something, I will go," she said. "I'm certain that any restaurant in the Greater Boston area is going to put in the proper controls in place, unlike that bar. So I will feel secure, I'm sure of it."
