Gov. Baker Urges Residents to Skip Holiday Gatherings, Citing Post-Thanksgiving COVID Spike Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker. Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday urged Massachusetts residents not to gather in groups during the upcoming holidays, saying such activities over Thanksgiving led to a significant spike in coronavirus cases. Baker said a surge of new coronavirus cases since Thanksgiving has put a "significant strain" on the health care system, and warned the situation could worsen after December's holidays, threatening to dampen optimism following the arrival this week of vaccine shipments to the state. "It's pretty simple," Baker said in a press conference. "The safest way to celebrate this year is with members of your own household and to postpone or cancel any travel plans and to avoid gatherings with people you don't live with. Any type of celebration beyond that has real potential, as we saw with Thanksgiving, to spread the virus and hurt the ones we love the most."