By JULIE CUNNINGHAM
(Boston, MA) In the latest press conference directed at the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Charlie Baker declined to increase restrictions on Massachusetts businesses, pushing the decision to local municipalities instead. During the conference, Baker said he does support local municipalities enacting stricter restrictions than the State government. While the town by town differences may be confusing to residents, Baker said the data does not support further restrictions like shutting down indoor dining. Some Western Massachusetts communities, like Pittsfield, have shut down indoor dining. Across the Pioneer Valley many school districts are going full remote for an extended period of time due to the wide spread nature of COVID-19 in the area. However, there is a glimmer of hope, as Frontier Regional has been selected for a federal funded rapid testing initiative that will allow the schools to identify and test symptomatic students and staff and get the results back in as little as fifteen minutes.