Hard-hit Massachusetts worries COVID-19 respite is fleeting

A backyard barbecue in the picturesque Cape Cod town of Chatham, Massachusetts, has led to more than a dozen new coronavirus infections.

About an hour away, in the coastal community of Falmouth, an in-person high school graduation ceremony was scrubbed after school officials say some seniors were exposed to the virus.

And on the western side of the state, the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield is dealing with an outbreak of at least 40 cases traced to a hospital staffer who recently returned from an out-of-state vacation.

Less than a month after Massachusetts allowed gyms, movie theaters, museums and other public venues to reopen, there’s an increasing sense of dread that the hard-hit state’s summertime respite from the pandemic is waning just as families are looking ahead to the start of school.

“Pay attention #Massachusetts — #COVID19 is on the rise. The numbers show it. The anecdotes show it,” Dr. David Rosman, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, said in a series of widely shared tweets Sunday.

Rosman, who is also the associate chair of radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said in a followup interview Wednesday that the recent uptick should be a clarion call to redouble virus prevention efforts in Massachusetts. The state already has the third-highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S., at more than 8,300.

He and others have also urged Republican Gov. Charlie Baker to consider rolling back his decision that moved the state into the third phase of his reopening plan on July 6 if case numbers don’t improve.

In the Boston suburb of Somerville, home to Tufts University, Mayor Joseph Curtatone has voiced similar concerns for weeks.

Rather than enacting Phase 3 of Baker's plan, the Democratic mayor has opted to hold...