13 Massachusetts Communities Take Step Back In Reopening
WALTHAM (CBS) - Thirteen Massachusetts cities and towns have been forced to take a step back in their reopening because of a rise in coronavirus cases.
Starting Monday, the 13 communities moving from Step 2 of Phase 3 back to Step 1 are Acushnet, Brockton, Chelmsford, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Leicester, Malden, Plymouth, Randolph, Waltham, Webster and Woburn.
Those communities have been in the high-risk red zone for three consecutive weeks, according to the Department of Public Health.
That means businesses like roller skating rinks, trampoline parks, laser tag and escape rooms must close. Gyms, libraries, museums and arcades have to reduce capacity from 50-percent to 40-percent. Outdoor gatherings, as well as outdoor theater and performance venues, are now limited to 50 people.
"It takes a community to get to this red and it takes a community to get out of this red so I need the cooperation of everybody," Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy told WBZ-TV Monday.
McCarthy said there will be several changes in her city including a mask order and moving the closing time for restaurants from 1 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Overall, 77 cities and towns are now deemed high-risk by the state.
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