Boston May Move Into 'High Risk' Category After Recent Coronavirus Uptick, Walsh Cautions
BOSTON (CBS) – Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said there has been an uptick in coronavirus in the city, which could soon land Boston among the cities and towns categorized as high risk.
"We are monitoring the situation extremely closely," said Walsh.
The state's risk map comes out Wednesday night. Towns and cities are colored red, yellow, green, or white based on the number of cases per 100,000 per day.
"We are very close to moving into the red category on the map; that could happen either later today or next week," said Walsh.
As of last week, Boston was labeled in the yellow category with an average daily incidence rate of 7.7 per 100,000 in the last 14 days. Cities and towns move into the high risk category when they reach 8.0 per 100,000.
"The red zone, for me, does not make us think that we have to shut down the city of Boston," Walsh said. "We're not at that point."
It does mean, however that Boston will not be increasing the seating capacity at restaurants. Earlier Wednesday, Governor Charlie Baker announced restaurants in the Commonwealth could seat ten people to a table beginning Monday.
"We are keeping the maximum table in the city of Boston at six," Walsh said. "We want to make sure that we do everything we can to get these numbers down."
"We're not going to set panic off right now with the increasing numbers, but we are seeing a little bit of a trend going up; it is within our control."
Walsh specifically called on young adults to do their part.
"We need you to share messaging with your peers. We need you to be in contact with your friends," the mayor said. "We're asking you not to go to parties, don't gather indoors, and don't be gathering in tight groups. Let others know why you're making the choices to protect yourself and protect your families. I know that you care about your community, and you care about helping our city move forward in this recovery."
