Massachusetts is extending by two weeks tightened restrictions on gatherings, including a 25 percent capacity limit for many businesses.
The restrictions went into effect on Dec. 26 and will now be extended for at least two more weeks to Jan. 24, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday at a State House press conference.
The decision came the same day a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus originally seen in the United Kingdom was detected in Connecticut.
Businesses that will continue to operate at 25 percent capacity include restaurants, casinos, offices, houses of worship, retail stores, driving schools, theaters and performance venues, golf courses, libraries, lodging, arcades, fitness and health clubs and museums.
Workers and staff will not count toward the occupancy count for restaurants, places of worship, close contact personal services, and retail businesses.
Baker said he understands how hard the limits are, particularly for small businesses, but they’re needed to try to stem the latest COVID-19 surge in the state. The Republican said his administration will review the progress in two weeks to see if the limits can be eased then.
“We need to stay in this game a little longer,” he said.
Boston had earlier extended its own restrictions covering gyms, movie theaters, museums, organized tours and other similar businesses plus a ban on public and private indoor gatherings of more than 10 people through Jan. 27.
The city can quickly rebuild a field hospital at the city’s convention center if needed, Mayor Marty Walsh said Thursday, even as case counts were going in the “wrong direction.”
Walsh said he is keeping a close eye on the rising number of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, some of the highest the city has seen since May. While many of those getting sick are younger, the number requiring hospitalization is still climbing, he said.
In June the city released the final patients from its field hospital – dubbed Boston Hope – which had been opened earlier in the pandemic.
The state has opened two new field hospitals in Lowell and Worcester recently to deal with the new surge, and Walsh said the Boston field hospital could be reestablished quickly if needed.
“It’s taken apart but it’s there. We did it in five days. We built it in five days last time so I’d probably say we could build it in three, maybe in two because all the pieces are there,” he said. “Now it’s a puzzle and you can put it together.”
Walsh also said he’s planning to get vaccinated when it’s his turn.
“I’m not going to jump the line,” he said. “There’s a process.”
