As corona virus cases continue to rise, the city of Boston will take a step back from plans to reopen starting Wednesday.
Mayor Marty Walsh announced on Monday that Boston would move to a second phase of a “transformed”, second phase of its economic reopening program – and mayors in cities around Boston would soon order similar restrictions.
“Instead of waiting for the situation to get worse, we’ll be active here in Boston,” Walsh told a news conference Monday afternoon. “We’re going to take action now … and prevent our hospitals from overcrowding.”
Walsh said Boston will begin the first phase on Wednesday from its current third phase, and must be in the second phase for at least three weeks – or, at least on holidays. The last time the city was at that point was in July.
Museums, theaters and fisheries will be closed. Gyms and fitness centers will be closed “for public use”, although training with each other may continue with space restrictions. Indoor recreational activities such as rock climbing, driving ranges and bowling alleys will be closed.
Retail, personal services, outdoor halls will be open at 25% capacity. Indoor dining – which reopened in the previous phase of the second phase – can continue to seat hosts until restaurants and catering bars follow the recently updated safety regulations by the state.
Walsh also announced that people could not be seated in restaurants without the special approval of the city’s licensing committee. The board will begin its weekly meeting to discuss any violations related to internal food infection control.
“It’s not about targeting specific sectors,” Walsh said. “This is an attempt to reduce overall activity outside the home. We want to minimize the negative impact on people working in small businesses.”
On Monday afternoon, Somerville and Procton announced relapses similar to the modified version of Phase 2, with plans to reopen.
Walsh’s announcement comes a week after Charlie Baker moved all of Massachusetts back to the third stage, one of the state’s reopening timelines. That change reduced indoor capacity in various places, closed some recreational activities and imposed new and stricter rules on restaurants around the Commonwealth.
The Metropolitan Area Planning Council praised Walsh’s decision to impose these restrictions.
“COVID cases, deaths and hospitalizations call for swift action to reduce social outbreaks, and Mayor Walsh is taking such action today,” said Mark D. Wright, managing director of MAPC. Dreson said in a statement. “The decision to close businesses, even temporarily, is by no means easy. These are difficult decisions that will affect the lives of owners, employees and customers. It is very difficult because there is no federal support to ease the burden on employers and employees.”
During a press conference on Monday, Walsh called on the federal government to provide more funding for a variety of needs between residents and business owners.
“It’s up to the mayors and governors to ask the federal government for help. Congress and the sitting administration must do their job. The American people need help right now.”
Walsh noted that the city hopes to bring high-demand students back to the classroom in January.
“We are cutting back on essential activities to prioritize education,” he said.
With additional reporting from LB Creamer of WBUR