13 Communities Are Rolling Back Reopening Measures

MASSACHUSETTS — Thirteen cities and towns in Massachusetts are rolling back reopening measures after being deemed high-risk for coronavirus spread for three straight weeks.

Beginning Monday, the communities must move back from phase 3, step 2 to phase 3, step 1. That means some businesses closing and others reducing capacity.

The communities are Acushnet, Brockton, Chelmsford, Holyoke, Hudson, Kingston, Leicester, Malden, Plymouth, Randolph, Waltham, Webster and Woburn.

The step back means gyms, libraries and museums must reduce capacity from 50 percent to 40 percent, businesses with indoor activities such as laser tag and roller skating must close and outdoor gathering limits are reduced from 100 to 50.

Most communities entered step 3, phase 2 on Oct. 5. There is no date for when the state will enter step 4, which Gov. Charlie Baker has said would require a vaccine or therapeutics for COVID-19.

Seventy-seven communities are now considered high-risk by the state. Coronavirus rates have been increasing for weeks — the past two days have seen more than 1,000 cases each. Sewage measurements suggest the spike is still on an upward trajectory.

This weekend also saw large parties force Marblehead public schools and Wilmington High School to go fully remote.

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