Governor Baker Addresses The New Coronavirus Strain

Governor Charlie Baker made a stop in western Mass. Tuesday to discuss efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

From a story reported on by Western Mass News/WGGB, Governor Baker also weighed in on the new strain of the virus most recently detected in New York.

The variant is said to be much more contagious, and Governor Baker said he assumes it's already here in Massachusetts.

As the new coronavirus variant has now spread to the Northeast, the race is on to get everyone in Massachusetts vaccinated.

“If you were to talk to most of the state, our view would be sooner the better, right. Give us kind of six weeks worth of what the distribution will look like, how many, and on what day, and we will put the infrastructure in place to make sure we deliver as quickly as we possibly can,” Gov. Baker said.

Health experts said the new variant does not appear to be more deadly, but it does make the coronavirus even more contagious. In fact, health officials said the virus could spread 70 percent faster.

The new strain was just detected in Saratoga Springs, New York, and previously in Colorado, California, and Florida.

Governor Baker went on to say:

Most of us are already working on the assumption that it’s already here. I mean, there is no reason not to, given the contagious nature of this new variant.

The good news is experts believe the vaccines will still be able to fight the virus.

This comes as thousands of front-line healthcare workers have already gotten their first doses, and soon many first responders will too.

For more on the story, visit Western Mass News' website here.