BOSTON (WHDH) - Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced Monday that “Boston will not reopen” next week when Gov. Charlie Baker’s non-essential business closure order and statewide stay-at-home advisory expires.
As of right now, the state’s advisory is slated to be lifted on May 4, but Walsh stated that Boston would not be reopening for business due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“There is no question that May 4 is too early,” Walsh said. “I’d have serious concerns if we start relaxing some of the measures we have taken in Boston and across the Commonwealth on May 4, especially if it’s done without a clear and thoughtful plan.”
When asked about the date in question, Baker said that it’s important to “create some clarity” around the issue and that an announcement would be made “later this week.”
Walsh stressed that Boston and other communities need to determine public health benchmarks before moving forward with reopening the economy.
“I can tell you right now Boston will not reopen on May 4,” Walsh said. “We need to determine what the public health benchmarks are.”
Walsh said city officials are analyzing data to determine what protocols need to be implemented in order to allow for a safe return to normalcy.
“We are currently building a recovery framework in the city of Boston that will give us a guide for short, medium and longterm recovery,” Walsh said. “It will need to include public health interventions to ensure the spread is minimized until a vaccine or treatment is ready.”
Walsh added that his goal to prevent further spikes of the coronavirus and reduce both health and economic inequalities during recovery efforts.
“We can’t afford to make any mistakes. We are not going to sit back and wait for the coronavirus to go away to take the next step but we are going to approach it very thoughtfully,” Walsh said. “We should never put ourselves in where we move to quickly and undo the progress that’s been made.”
Walsh promised to share details on the recovery plan when they are finalized.
This comes as 1,000 people living in East Boston, Roslindale, and parts of Dorchester are being contacted to receive voluntary testing for COVID-19 antibodies.
“The data will help us estimate how many people will likely be infected,” Walsh said. “It will help us plan to use resources in a smart way and it will also help us target areas most vulnerable.”
Baker says he believes Massachusetts General Hospital’s specific testing for Boston will yield useful information but broad antibody testing is unreliable until the FDA gives more guidance.
“I think a test that, up to a third of the time is wrong, is not very helpful,” he said. “You have to think about doing a lot more of the traditional testing, not just the antibody testing because all the antibody test will tell you is who had it.”
As of Monday, 56,462 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Massachusetts, along with 3,003 virus-related deaths.
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