• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Sponsor An Email
  • Post A Job
  • Merger & Acquisition Services

Agency Checklists

Massachusetts Insurance News & More

You are here: Home / State House News / Retail Chief Wants “Date for Normalcy”

Retail Chief Wants “Date for Normalcy”

January 20, 2022 by State House News Service

“Time to set a real date for normalcy & get on with it”

As the world approaches the start of a third year living with COVID-19, many schools, businesses and families are living through a fresh round of mask and vaccine mandates and heightened anxiety over the latest surge. Public officials are under pressure to do more to protect vulnerable populations, and hospitals are stretched by staffing shortages and infections among the unvaccinated.

Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst said Wednesday that small businesses are also hurting, and he believes it’s time to start asking a different question other than how can the state keep people safe: “When do the goalposts stop moving?”

Hurst said the onus should be on government and large employers in hubs like Boston to set a timeline for workers to return to the office and start messaging to the public that it’s safe to return to restaurants, gyms, retailers and other businesses.

“Time to set a real date for normalcy & get on with it,” Hurst tweeted this week.

Asked about his position, Hurst said the March anniversary of the 2020 COVID-19 restrictions that marked the start of the pandemic presents a good opportunity for public leaders to tell people to go back to a more normal life.

March 1? April 1? Hurst said he doesn’t care so long as small business leaders can plan around it.

“It’s time to start putting those goalposts into concrete and determining when we’re going to try to get on with our lives and on with commerce,” Hurst said. “The customer has not returned. Partially, it’s the restrictions, partially it’s the messaging, partially it’s big office towers in Boston not bringing workers back. We’ve kind of fallen into an inertia, so to speak, of not being prepared to move forward.”

Not everyone shares Hurst’s view. In fact, there are new calls daily for public officials to do more with masks and vaccine mandates to protect the public from the omicron variant. Hospitals are also operating near full capacity.

Hurst said a return to normal could include bringing back unvaccinated workers to understaffed medical facilities and other settings to perform “low-risk” tasks like paperwork.

“How much of this is really true concern on safety, how much of it is somewhat irrational fear, how much of it is becoming complacency and laziness in not getting back into the office? Hurst asked.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: State House News Tagged With: Agency Checklists, Mass. Insurance News, Massachusetts economic news, massachusetts insurance news, Massachusetts legislative news, New England Insurance News, State House News Service

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored

Sponsored

Latest Agency Sales

Patriot Growth Adds Two Employee Benefit Agencies in Massachusetts

Cross Insurance Acquires Two More Massachusetts Insurance Agencies & Opens A New Office in Newburyport

Q1-2022 Sees A Decline in U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions Activity

Insurance Agency Mergers & Acquisitions in Mass. | Q1-2022

Insurance Agency Mergers & Acquisitions in Mass. | Q1-2022

More Agency Sales

Career News

Two New Appointments At Preferred Mutual

Agency Checklists, MA Insurance News, Mass. Insurance News, MA Life Insurance Companies, Boston Mutual

Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company Appoints David Martin as Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Satellite Agency Network

SAN Group Announces Recipients of 2022 SAN Awards

Alera Group Expands Northeast Regional Leadership Team

A.I.M. Mutual Elects Daniel A. Landers President & Chief Executive Officer

A.I.M. Mutual Elects Daniel A. Landers President & Chief Executive Officer

In Memoriam

In Memoriam: Daniel Rizzo, 1937-2022

In Memoriam: Bruce MacDonald 1935-2022

In Memoriam: Bruce MacDonald 1935-2022

In Memoriam: William "Bill" Carter, Jr. 1932-2022

In Memoriam: William “Bill” Carter, Jr. 1932-2022

CAR News

17 Bullet Points on The New Insurance Labor Rate Report

2nd Look 2022: The Massachusetts Private Passenger Auto Insurance Marketplace

2nd Look 2022: The Commercial Auto Insurance Marketplace in Massachusetts

1st Look 2022: The Commercial Auto Insurance Marketplace in Massachusetts

View More CAR News

Massachusetts Law Updates

Front view of the Quincy Mass. Masonic Temple with Roman Columns

Confused Voicemail Leads to E&O and Coverage Suits

SJC Construed For 1st Time Meaning of “Doing Business As” In Relation to CGL Coverage.

5 Points On New Ruling: Unreasonable Storage Reduces ACV Payment

A short opinion with a disproportionate impact on first-party property damage total loss claims.

Agency Checklist article on COVID-19 Closings in Massachusetts

First State High-Court COVID-19 Decision On Business Interruption Claims

Dismissed by Superior Court, the restaurants took their appeal directly to the SJC.

Vermont Mutual Asks High Court to Reverse Decision $215,000 Attorney Fee Award Payable As Damages under Bodily Injury Coverage

An unusual case involving a breach of warranty claim under Chapter 93A and whether mandatory attorney fee awards apply.

More Mass. Law Updates

DOI News

The 2022 MA Home Insurance Report Part II | MA FAIR Plan Review

The 2022 MA Home Insurance Report | Part I

Mass. Business Entity License Renewals on Hold

DOI Fines Producer $1,250 For Prior Failures To Report After License Lapses

View More DOI News

Insurance Fraud

Quinn Group Ins. Owner’s Trial to Begin on Federal Benefit and Social Security Fraud Today

First Guilty Plea in No-Fault PIP Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme

GM Financial Will Pay Over $1.8 Million For GAP Coverage Refunds and Loan Violations

Insurance Agency To Pay $100,000 Fine And $515,000 In Restitution Under Consent Decree

More Insurance Fraud News

Footer

Agency Checklists

About us
Contact us

14 Summer Street
Suite 102
Malden, MA 02148
617-598-3800

Advertise on Agency Checklists

We offer a variety of ways to get help promote your company or product.

Announcements
Email Sponsorships
Partnerships
Custom Collaborations

*Affiliate Disclosure

Please note that any of Agency Checklists’ articles might contain one or more affiliate links. This means that any subsequent purchase resulting from these links may result in a commission for us, but at no additional cost to you. For example, as an Amazon Associate, Agency Checklists earns a commission from all qualifying purchases. By working with affiliates we can continue to keep Agency Checklists subscription free. Thank you for your support.

SEARCH OUR SITE

Explore Our Archives

Copyright © 2022 · Agency Checklists · All rights reserved.

 

Loading Comments...