A state of emergency: One year after Gov. Charlie Baker’s declaration, the COVID pandemic continues to take a toll Updated Mar 10, 2021; On March 9 of 2020, there were just 41 cases of coronavirus identified in Massachusetts. The next day, it jumped to 91. Exactly one year later, as COVID cases in the Bay State approach 560,000, these seem like small numbers. But those double-digits in the early days of the pandemic quickly turned to triple-digits. Then triple digits turned to thousands. The COVID pandemic that seemed like a faraway threat was here. On March 10, Gov. Charlie Baker issued a state of emergency. The move would open the door for a wave of more than 60 executive orders over the next year, dramatically altering life and business in Massachusetts for at least the time being.