BOSTON — With a statewide decline in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Charlie Baker announced last week that, effective today, Massachusetts will advance to Step 2 of Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan.
Baker spoke at a news conference today at the Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan, where a vaccine clinic was taking place that had so far administered 1,000 vaccines. The symbolism of holding the briefing in a church, located as it is in a community of color hardest hit by the virus, was obvious.
The state’s vaccine rollout has been plagued with technical problems that have prevented those seeking vaccines from signing up. The Baker administration’s vaccination sign-up website crashed last month when confronted with 1 million additional vaccine seekers competing for only 60,000 slots.
One frustrated lawmaker, State Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz (D-Boston), called the vaccine rollout a “textbook case study of structural racism … where each incremental advantage buys you another ticket into the drawing.”
For his part, Baker defended the administration’s efforts and announced last week a new $4.7 million initiative to promote COVID-19 “vaccine equity” in the 20 communities most disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“These efforts will specifically focus on communities of color, homebound seniors, disabled individuals, and other hard-to-reach populations,” Baker’s administration said in a statement.
At today’s news conference, Baker defended his order, which loosens restrictions on indoor performance venues, indoor recreational activities, and dining in restaurants. Baker has come under fire from public health experts who say loosening the restrictions could reverse the progress the state has made in containing the virus.
See video below of Gov. Baker’s COVID-19 update and press briefing this morning at the Morningstar Baptist Church in Mattapan:
Baker said that, since the beginning of this year, key public health data such as new cases and hospitalizations have shown a significant decline, allowing for the loosening of restrictions. Changes to the restrictions are as follows:
- Indoor performance venues such as concert halls, theaters, and other indoor performance spaces will be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity with no more than 500 persons
- Indoor recreational activities with greater potential for contact (laser tag, roller skating, trampolines, obstacle courses) will be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity
- Capacity limits across all sectors with capacity limits will be raised to 50% and exclude employees
- Restaurants will no longer have a percent capacity limit and will be permitted to host musical performances; six-foot social distancing, limits of six people per table, and 90-minute limits remain in place
Some public health experts have taken exception to Baker’s move. Asked by the Boston Globe what he would say to the governor, Dr. Robert Horsburgh, a Boston University professor of epidemiology, replied, “I’d say, ‘Charlie, you’re making a big mistake.’ Opening up these restaurants is going to prolong the epidemic, and increase the number of Massachusetts residents that die.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have both warned that rolling back health measures now could cause infection rates to rise just as more contagious variants of the virus have emerged from South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Baker has defended the loosening of restrictions because new daily infection and hospitalization rates are dropping. “Massachusetts is a national leader in vaccination rates and COVID transmission is declining significantly — allowing the Commonwealth to continue the responsible, incremental process to lift economic restrictions,” said Baker spokesman Terry MacCormack on Sunday, in a statement to The Globe.
#COVID19MA public health metrics are moving in the right direction with continued drops in average daily cases and hospitalizations.
As a result, we are taking steps to reopen our economy:
⏩ Phase III, Step 2 begins Monday March 1
⏩ Phase IV, Step 1 begins Monday, March 22 pic.twitter.com/SojuJNVMsO— Charlie Baker (@MassGovernor) February 25, 2021
The Phase 4 restart will commence on March 22, Baker said, “as long as the public health data continues to get better.” Phase 4 will open some previously closed business sectors under tight capacity restrictions. They are expected to be adjusted over time if favorable trends in public health data continue.
Baker said the following venues will be permitted to operate at a strict 12% capacity limit after submitting a plan to the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH):
- Indoor and outdoor stadiums
- Arenas
- Ballparks
Also effective March 22, gathering limits for event venues and in public settings will increase to 100 people indoors and 150 people outdoors. Outdoor gatherings at private residences and in private backyards will remain at a maximum of 25 people, with indoor house gatherings remaining at 10 people.
In addition, dance floors will be permitted at weddings and other events only, and sleepover summer camps will be allowed to operate this summer. Exhibition and convention halls may also begin to operate but must follow gathering limits and event protocols. Other Phase 4 sectors must continue to remain closed.
On the vaccination front, Massachusetts residents could begin receiving Johnson & Johnson’s recently approved single-shot COVID-19 vaccine as soon as next week. The state currently receives about 139,000 doses per week through the federal government from Pfizer and Moderna. Baker said he expects to know more about long-term J&J delivery schedules by the end of the month. Click here to book an COVID-19 vaccination appointment through the state’s website.
Meanwhile, state Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley last month called for all elementary public school students to return to full in-person learning by April, with the additional goal of getting all students back in the classroom full-time by the end of the school year.
