Boston Extends Restrictions 3 More Weeks Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic

Mayor Marty Walsh announced Tuesday (January 5) the city of Boston will be extending restrictions on several facilities for another three weeks amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Walsh said gyms, museums, movie theaters and other businesses will continue to be restricted until January 27 after the city implemented its own restrictions to reduce the spread of coronavirus last month, the Boston Globe reports.

The city is currently in a modified version of Phase 2, Step 2 of its reopening plan, which temporarily closes several facilities that host large groups of individuals including indoor touring facilities, historical spaces and arcades. Officials said the restrictions would last at least three weeks, at which point the new measures would be reevaluated.

The restrictions were initially scheduled to expire on Wednesday, January 6, before Mayor Walsh announced the extension on Tuesday during a press conference at Faneuil Hall. The mayor said the decision to delay Boston's reopening plan was made due to the expected spike in COVID-19 cases brought on by the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

“Given the high numbers that we’re seeing ... we’re extending this pause for at least another three weeks until Jan. 27,” Walsh said via the Globe. “We have to start to see a decline in our daily cases. We’ve seen a pretty steady rising of the numbers every single day for ... almost two months now. We are getting to a point where it’s getting very dangerous.”

"We have to do everything we can to get those numbers down," Walsh added.

On Tuesday, Governor Charlie Baker announced more than 70,000 staff members at Massachusetts hospitals have already received the COVID-19 vaccine during the state's ongoing distribution program, which is reported to expand to include first responders on January 11.

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