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BOSTON
- Monday, December 14, 2020 - In an effort to reduce the further spread of
COVID-19 and its impact on Boston's health care system and essential
services, Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that effective Wednesday,
December 16, the City of Boston will return back to a modified Phase Two,
Step Two of the Reopening
Massachusetts plan. Mayors and city leaders from Massachusetts are
joining Boston in announcing similar restrictions in their cities and
towns, including Arlington, Brockton, Lynn, Newton, Somerville, and
Winthrop.
"Unfortunately,
we are at the point where we need to take stronger action to control COVID-19
in Boston, and urgently, to ensure our health care workers have the
capacity to care for everyone in need," said Mayor Walsh. "We are
hopeful that by reducing opportunities for transmission throughout the
region, we will reduce the spread of this deadly virus and maintain our
ability to keep critical services open. We continue to urge everyone to
take personal responsibility and follow the public health guidelines while
visiting any public space or business, and employers to allow their
employees to work from home as much as possible. Together, we will be able
to get this virus under control, save lives, and ultimately come back
stronger."
Read
the Boston Public Health Commission's "Order Establishing Supplemental
COVID-19 Restrictions in the City of Boston."
The
City of Boston had been in Step One of Phase Three of the Reopening
Massachusetts plan since July 6, 2020. Boston has been experiencing a
steady increase in COVID-19 cases among its residents since Thanksgiving,
with the citywide positive test rate at 7.2 percent for the week ending on
December 6, 2020, up from 5.2 percent for the prior week. The percentage of
occupied adult non-surge ICU beds at Boston hospitals is at 90 percent as
of December 10, 2020. Returning to a modified Phase Two, Step Two requires
the closure of certain businesses designated as Phase Three. Gatherings in
private and public settings are required to have no more than 10 people for
indoor settings and 25 people for outdoor settings.
The following industries in the City of Boston are required to
close starting Wednesday, December 16 for at least three weeks:
- Indoor fitness centers and
health clubs, including gyms using alternative spaces. One-on-one
personal training sessions are allowed.
- Movie theaters
- Museums
- Aquariums
- Indoor recreational and
athletic facilities (except for youth 18 and under)
- This does not apply to
collegiate or professional sports. Collegiate sports teams in the
City of Boston may continue to use indoor recreational facilities and
fitness centers.
- Indoor pools may remain open
for all ages under pre-registration format structure limited to one
person per swim lane.
- Indoor recreational venues with
potential for low-contact (batting cases, driving ranges, bowling
alleys, rock-climbing)
- Sightseeing and other organized
tours (bus tours, duck tours, harbor cruises, whale watching)
- Indoor historical spaces &
sites
- Indoor event spaces (meeting
rooms, ballrooms, private party rooms, social clubs)
- Indoor and outdoor gaming
arcades associated with gaming devices
The following industries in the City of Boston may remain in
operation with the following restrictions in place starting Wednesday,
December 16 for at least three weeks:
- Office
spaces may remain open at 40 percent capacity. Employers are
strongly encouraged to allow employees to work from home as much as
possible.
- Indoor dining in restaurants
may remain in operation with restricted bar seating. The 90 minute
limit on seatings to reduce crowding and prevent the spread of
COVID-19 will be strictly enforced. No member of any dining party may
remain in a restaurant for more than 90 minutes in any calendar day.
Ancillary activities such as pool tables, darts, trivia, etc. are
prohibited.
- Bar seating is prohibited
unless express written approval is issued by Boston's Licensing
Board, after licensees submit
a Bar Seating Plan for review and approval.
- Indoor non-athletic
instructional classes in arts, education & life sciences for
persons 18 years and older may continue to operate within the
10-person capacity limit.
- Outdoor event spaces used for
gatherings and celebrations within the 25-person capacity limit,
including those in parks, reservations, and other outdoor spaces not
designated in Phase Four.
- Outdoor theaters and outdoor
performance venues may continue to operate within the 25-person
capacity limit.
- Motion picture, television and
streaming production may continue to operate.
"Right
now, we need to use every tool in our public health and healthcare
toolboxes to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," said Manny Lopes,
President and Chief Executive Officer of the East Boston Neighborhood
Health Center. "The vaccine is the light at the end of the tunnel, but
just because help is on the way does not mean the fight is over. For ten
months, Mayor Walsh and his team have followed the data and acted in the
best interest of the residents of the City of Boston. I applaud him for
continuing this strategy and look forward to mobilizing in support of our
shared battle against COVID-19."
As
a reminder, the following State orders remain in effect to reduce the
transmission of the virus:
- Face coverings order: face
masks or cloth face coverings are required in all public places,
whether indoors or outdoors, even where they are able to maintain 6
feet of distance from others.
- Travel
order: all visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning
residents are required to:
- Complete the Massachusetts
Travel Form prior to arrival, unless visiting from a lower-risk
state designated by the Department of Public Health.
- Quarantine for 14 days or
produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up
to 72-hours prior to arrival in Massachusetts.
- Stay-at-Home
Advisory: residents of Massachusetts are advised to stay home
between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Boston has been steadfast in its
commitment to supporting the small business community. The Reopen Boston Fund, still accepting
applications, has issued $3.1 million to more than 1,700 businesses to help
with the expenses of safely opening and operating businesses, and is still
accepting applications. In total, nearly $6.7 million in debt-free grants
have been distributed to over 1,850 small businesses in every neighborhood
across the City of Boston through the Office of Economic Development's Small
Business Relief Fund. Last month, the City launched
three new funds totaling $6.3 million that will support small
businesses in Boston that have been affected by COVID-19, focusing on
commercial rent relief, supporting certified women, minority, and veteran
owned small businesses, and restaurant relief. And to further assist the
City's small businesses, the City of Boston has created
a list of suppliers to help businesses source the personal protective
equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies required to ensure the safety of
employees and customers as industries reopen.
The
City of Boston will be hosting webinars on Tuesday, December 15 to provide
guidance and answer questions from business owners. All of the webinars
will be available live on the Office of Economic
Development's Facebook page. Spanish, Chinese, and Vietnamese
simultaneous interpretation will be available for all of the webinars and
small business conference calls.
To
better support arts organizations facing financial losses, canceled
programming, and closures caused by COVID-19, the City of Boston
established a $1 million Arts and Culture COVID-19 Fund, which awarded grants
to 146 small and mid-sized arts and culture nonprofits to adapt their
programs, spaces, and operating models. Throughout the COVID-19 public
health emergency, the City of Boston in partnership with Boston Center for
the Arts (BCA) have also awarded grants totaling over $330,000 to over 600
artists as part of the Boston Artist Relief Fund, which was established to
support artists whose creative practices and incomes were adversely
impacted by the pandemic.
Starting today, the Boston Public Schools (BPS) welcomed an
additional 1,700 high needs students for in-person learning across 28
schools. Students prioritized for in-person learning include students in
special education programs and students with limited or interrupted formal
education. For more information, please visit bostonpublicschools.org
For
more information about Boston's reopening, please visit boston.gov/reopening.
For additional questions or programs, please visit our coronavirus website or call 3-1-1,
Boston's 24-hour constituent hotline. Text BOSCOVID to 888-777 to receive
text alerts on a regular basis, available in 11 languages. |
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