BOSTON — The city started using public works trucks to broadcast messages about coronavirus safety Sunday.
City officials said the trucks will be outfitted with sound equipment and they will deliver messages about social distancing, washing hands and using facial coverings. The trucks will deliver the messages in seven languages depending on the neighborhood they are broadcasting in, officials said.
Mayor Marty Walsh said the city is “launching new tactics to get the message out in the places that we know are hardest hit.” Trucks will be deployed in hard-hit neighborhoods including Hyde Park, Mattapan, Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury and Roslindale, officials said.
Massachusetts has had more than 38,000 cases of the virus and more than 1,700 deaths. Boston officials said Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood alone has had more than 1,270 cases.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker appeared Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation and said the state is “right in the middle of the surge now.” He also stressed the importance of cooperation between states in the Northeast. He said he does not “want Massachusetts to do something that makes life incredibly complicated for New York or New Jersey or New Hampshire or Vermont.”
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s attorneys filed court papers Saturday seeking to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Democrats in the state about coronavirus relief money. New Hampshire Legislature leaders turned to the courts to try to stop Sununu from spending federal COVID-19 relief funds without their permission.
Sununu argued in court papers that the complaint “should be dismissed for lack of standing.”
A Republican state lawmaker is encouraging residents to join him Monday in a demonstration aimed at getting officials to reopen the state. A demonstration against lockdowns took place Saturday in New Hampshire’s capital city.
Rep. Chris Johansen, of Aroostook County, wants residents to come to Augusta, the state’s capital city, for the “Re-Open Maine” event. He posted on Facebook that residents who want to participate should “fill up your gas tanks and get ready to rumble.”
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has issued a stay-at-home order for Maine. The governor has said repeatedly that maintaining social distancing is important to slow the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 800 people and killed 34 in the state.
Johansen has called on participants to maintain social distance and wear masks during the event.
Connecticut is looking for residents to donate personal protective equipment if they are able. The state has set up a process for residents to donate items such as face masks and surgical gowns.
Connecticut has had more than 17,500 cases of the virus.
Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo raised the possibility of reopening the state in May. She said state officials were working on a path to reopen the state’s economy in phases, she said.
The state has had more than 4,400 cases of the virus.