As cases rise again, second thoughts on another lockdown

As COVID-19 cases have risen in Massachusetts and around the country, a public still hearing the echo of “flatten the curve” has begun bracing for — and dreading — a potential wintertime shutdown. So far, though, elected officials, including Governor Charlie Baker, have largely resisted saying if they would issue a new round of stay-at-home orders. And, increasingly, public health experts say they might not need to. “Lockdown is a blunt measure that impacts the whole population,” said Natalia Linos, executive director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University. “We know that we will have pockets of outbreaks, and if we are able to quickly identify those pockets and shut them down, then we can prevent the situation where we have widespread exposure' that leads to wider lockdowns.