Governor Charlie Baker said Friday that restaurants in Massachusetts can begin offering indoor dining on Monday as the state’s gradual reopening continues amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Indoor dining starts on Monday,” Baker said during his regular State House briefing. “We’re going to want at least two weeks of indoor dining data” before moving onto the next reopening phase.
As he has repeatedly in recent days, Baker again touted the plummeting positive test rate for the virus in Massachusetts, which currently stands at about 2.3 percent.
“We’re moving in the right direction as we continue our gradual reopening,” Baker said, while urging residents to continue social distancing, wearing masks in public, practicing good hygiene and monitoring for symptoms. “These things do work, and we can contain the virus. ... We should keep in mind that COVID doesn’t take the summer off.”
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Baker said restaurant tables will have to be at least six feet apart, though there won’t be a capacity limit. Party sizes will be limited to six people and bar seating will be prohibited, he said.
In addition to indoor restaurant service returning, close contact services such as nail salons can also reopen Monday with restrictions, and retail outlets will be permitted to open dressing rooms by appointment only, Baker said. Also, offices will be permitted to increase their capacity to 50 percent.
Restaurants in Massachusetts earlier this month reopened for outdoor dining only.
Baker said Friday that state officials have been pleased to see outdoor dining catch on so well.
“I think we were all pleasantly surprised,” he said.
Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito also briefed reporters and said employers are still urged to let their office staff work from home when possible. She added that the public must remain vigilant against the virus.
“It really is in your hands, and you’ve done a tremendous job,” she said.
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Turning to the Juneteenth celebrations taking place across the state and the country on Friday to commemorate the end of slavery, Baker said the “holiday is also a chance for us to recognize the painful history of slavery and racial injustice in this country, and to acknowledge the lasting, systemic impact that continues to this day.”
The governor said his administration had issued a proclamation recognizing Friday as Juneteenth in Massachusetts.
Juneteenth, Baker said, provides “a chance for us to recommit ourselves to building a more equal and just society. This year as we engage in a national conversation around racial injustice, recognizing this holiday is more important than ever.”
Juneteenth, held annually on June 19, this year follows weeks of nationwide protests against racism and police brutality after George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man, died as a white Minneapolis police officer pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Baker said Friday that almost 16,000 people last week visited COVID-19 testing sites set up in Massachusetts for people who had taken part in the demonstrations. The test results should be available in the next couple of days, Baker said.
Also during the briefing, State Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said the COVID Health Equity Advisory Group and the Department of Public Health planned to release “new data and recommendations” for addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, including communities of color.
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The information, Sudders said, will include “new data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and death by race and ethnic status, and it will be age adjusted.” The data is expected to be released Friday afternoon.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
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Baker says indoor dining can resume at restaurants Monday - The Boston Globe
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