Mayor Walsh 'Disappointed' By Lack Of Social Distancing During Coronavirus Pandemic
BOSTON (CBS) -- Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he was "disappointed" by activities over the weekend that showed people are still not getting the message when it comes to social distancing.
"This weekend I was disappointed in people. Social distancing is what gets us through this, and we saw a lot of people not doing it this weekend," said Walsh. "We had people, a lot of people, out there because of the good weather. We need to stop the spread of the virus and by doing this it's not by gathering, and social gatherings, or socializing. It's by staying at home, self-isolation, physical distancing."
The city of Boston has strict stay-at-home guidelines, including a recommended 9 p.m. - 6 a.m. curfew. Everyone is also asked to wear a mask or face-covering in public.
Walsh said there were groups of people playing golf at the Devine Golf Course in Franklin Park and the George Wright Golf Course in Hype Park on Sunday despite the courses being closed. "In one case, the Boston Police Department had to come in and tell him to leave. This shouldn't have happened."
"In Massachusetts, we're the third-highest rate of COVID positive folks in the country. New York's number one, New Jersey is number two, Massachusetts number three. The way we fall out of the number three spot and start going down the list is by not having contact with people," Walsh said.
Despite his frustration, the mayor said he hoped not to impose fines on people caught disobeying social distancing guidelines.
He also said he was pleased to hear that there did not appear to be a lot of action along the Boston Marathon route.
"We're not going through this exercise of shutting down society because it's a game. We're doing it because we want to keep people alive.," Walsh said.
