Boston Mayor Uncomfortable With State's Office Reopening Plan

With the state's economy beginning to wake up on Tuesday, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh stressed the importance of moving slowly in the capital, stating that he has no plans right now to lift the city's curfew and worries that allowing offices to reopen at a quarter of normal capacity might be "too much" to start.

The mayor also outlined a more deliberate approach to resuming construction activities in Boston, and said the city was working on a plan that could be ready in the next week or two revolving around outdoor dining once restaurants are allowed to reopen.

Walsh spoke outside City Hall on Tuesday for the first time since Gov. Charlie Baker detailed his four-phase strategy to reopen the Massachusetts economy after two months of being shut down due to fears over the spread of COVID-19. The mayor said he thought Baker took a "thoughtful approach" but differed with the governor over the reopening of offices downtown.

Related: Ayanna Pressley Says MA 'Isn't Ready To Reopen'

The governor said offices can bring 25 percent of their workforce back starting next Monday everywhere except Boston, and on June 1 in the city. "I'm personally not comfortable with the 25 percent, to be quite honest with you, and we're looking at it now.

I just had a conversation before I came down about what the number would be, but I think 25 percent on the first day would be too much," Walsh said, noting that some large companies like State Street have said they won't reopen offices right away.

The mayor noted that Boston is unique in that it is the third most densely populated major city in the country, doubles in population size every day as workers commute into the city and is a diverse hub of tourism, higher education and health care.

"Overall, the data tells us that we're moving in the right direction on new cases, on positive tests and in hospitalization for about three weeks here now, and that is good news. But every day the trend also gives us reason for caution in the terms of how gradual it is, in how necessary our precautions have been and how much potential there is for new outbreaks if we don't keep doing the right thing," Walsh said.