Combined sources
Governor Charlie Baker is defending his new measures aimed at stemming the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, which include earlier closing times for restaurants and some other businesses. The alternative, he said Tuesday, is an overwhelmed health care system. He says people in the health care and hospital community are concerned about what current trends will mean if it keeps running for another eight to 10 weeks. He understands that the regulations are “disruptive” to the restaurant industry, but added that it’s better to take targeted measures now rather than suffer the consequences in several weeks.