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 said 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.
Despite measures that have been successful in slowing the spread of coronavirus, Walsh said Friday that it will likely be “quite some time” before Boston returns to the way it was before the outbreak.
As of Sunday, there were more than 8,000 coronavirus cases and 302 deaths in Boston.
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