Baker Rolls Back Reopening Plan in Face of Rising Virus Rates
iBerkshires.com reports the state's occupancy limits have been cut to 40 percent beginning Sunday as the governor rolls back the reopening phases because of rising rates of COVID-19.
Occupancy limits will be reduced to 40 percent and indoor performance venues and some indoor recreational activities will have to close. Dining indoors will be limited to six people per table for no more than 90 minutes. There will be heightened mask use and social distancing.
Gov. Charlie Baker said the rollback to Step 1 of Phase 3 reopening plan is necessary to reduce the strain on the state's hospitals during this second surge of the novel coronavirus.
"The rate Massachusetts residents are getting infected and the rate of which they are needing medical care, if all continues to move at this pace, is simply not sustainable over time," Baker said. "And our health care system will be put at risk."
There are more than 1,500 patients statewide with more than 300 in intensive care units. Over the past month, hospitalizations have increased by 150 percent and confirmed cases in ICUs by 110 percent. Nearly a dozen hospitals are reporting fewer than 10 percent of beds available and ICUs are nearly two-thirds full.