Baker: Socialization Sacrificed for COVID-19 Safety

Gov. Charlie Baker says he spends less time with the lieutenant governor these days yet they talk far more often.

It's an example of how the state will have to navigate this new normal — giving up the physical and social elements of teamwork but keeping remote contact.

The governor and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito toured the family-owned Symmons Industries to see examples of how the plumbing parts manufacturer is adapting to the guidelines for reopening during the pandemic that were set out on Monday.

Two years ago, Baker and Polito had toured the 80-year-old manufacturer and spoke to 150 people in the building's lobby. This time was quite different, he noted, as Symmons has been instituting industry specific guidelines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Symmons, precision plumbing fixtures manufacturer, pivoted to producing personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as developing touchless microbial keys and a water management platform for hotels.

 "One of the major challenges that we will all face going forward on this, not just here at Simmons but in workplaces across the commonwealth and as a country, is some of that intimacy ... that is so much a part of the shared commitment to work," he said. "And that is going to be the way it is going to be for some period of time here until we get to the point where we have treatments for a vaccine."

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