BOSTON (WHDH) - Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Friday announced that Boston will be moving to a modified Phase 4, Step 1 of Massachusetts’ reopening plan on Monday, which allows for the TD Garden and Fenway Park to welcome fans back, among other changes.
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During a news conference at City Hall, Walsh said Boston will not advance beyond the modified phase until the citywide COVID-19 testing positivity rate stays below 2.75 percent for at least two consecutive weeks.
While the city’s case numbers and hospitalizations are lower than they were during the holiday surge in January, Walsh said metrics are “still higher than they were last summer.”
“We still have a long way to go here. The virus is still with us,” Walsh said while explaining the city’s decision to take a more cautious approach to reopening than the state is.
Under the modified phase, indoor venues such as concert halls, theaters, and other seated indoor performance spaces in the city will be allowed to open at 50 percent capacity with a 500-person maximum capacity.
Indoor recreational activities with greater potential for contact like laser tag, roller skating, trampolines, and obstacle courses can open at 50 percent capacity.
Approved live entertainment may resume in restaurants, with the exception of singing, because Walsh said it increases the potential to spread coronavirus.
Indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas, and ballparks can host spectators at 12 percent capacity but venues must submit a COVID response plan to the Boston’s Licensing Board before hosting events.
Exhibition and convention halls can reopen with gathering limits and event rules in place. Dance floors will be permitted at weddings and approved events only.
The following businesses will remain closed until further notice:
- Road races, street festivals, parades, and fairs
- Amusement parks, theme parks, outdoor and indoor water parks
- Indoor and outdoor ball pits
- Saunas, hot tubs, and steam rooms at fitness centers, health clubs, and other facilities
- Beer gardens, breweries, wineries, and distilleries
- Bars, dance clubs, and nightclubs offering entertainment, beverages, or dancing without seated food service
Walsh also announced that private gatherings and events in will remain subject to current capacity limits of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
Public gatherings in the city will be allowed to increase to 60 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, lower than the state’s limits of 100 and 150 people, respectively.
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