Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Monday called out Bostonians who continue to go out and ignore social distancing guidelines before announcing that it’s unlikely schools will reopen prior to the end of the school year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yesterday I was watching a person being interviewed by one of the TV stations and he was golfing, he was smiling,” Walsh said during a news conference at City Hall. “There’s nothing to smile about. Nothing to be proud of. Not impressive on the golf course. It’ closed. That was a completely irresponsible move.”
Walsh explained that he doesn’t want to fine residents who are disobeying social distancing rules but warned that the Boston Police Department will be sending out officers to disperse crowds and deliver citations.
“I don’t want to be telling people off or pointing out people’s shortcomings but in this case, people need to get the point here,” Walsh said.
Walsh added that most people understand how grim the coronavirus situation in Massachusetts is but noted that he and other local officials are “scratching their heads” about people defying orders.
As of Sunday, 175 Boston residents had died from coronavirus. Massachusetts’ death toll has risen to 1,706 with six straight days of at least 100 new reported fatalities. New York and New Jersey are the only other states in America with more deaths.
“I don’t know how much more serious we can be,” Walsh said. “We’re not going through this exercise of shutting down society because it’s a game. We want to keep people alive.”
Walsh urged all residents to stay inside and only to go out if essential items are absolutely needed.
“It’s about keeping yourself safe and keeping your family safe,” Walsh stressed.
Walsh also spoke about whether he thinks students would return to school this year, saying that “no question” they won’t be going back on May 4.
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“At this point, I’m not too confident we’ll have school this year,” Walsh said.
Walsh also said things “could look very different in classrooms” in September and that every step taken now could prevent a surge that lasts months.
Walsh concluded by mentioning that life will probably “look very different” when people ultimately return to work in Boston.
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