The latest for what is now going on in Massachusetts....
Vinny
With COVID-19 numbers expected to rise over holidays, Gov. Baker tightens capacity limits again
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/with- ... r-BB1c9ctZ
Fearing that the holiday season could fuel an explosion of COVID-19 cases that the state's health care system would not be able to handle, Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday announced new restrictions that seek to limit the number of people in most businesses, public spaces, and private homes for at least two weeks after Christmas.
Starting Saturday and running until at least noon on Jan. 10, restaurants, movie theaters, performance venues, casinos, offices, places of worship, retail businesses, fitness centers, health clubs, libraries, golf facilities, driving and flight schools, arcades, museums, and "sectors not otherwise addressed" must limit their customer capacity to a maximum of 25 percent.
The capacity limits were part of an under an emergency order Baker issued Tuesday.
The limit for outdoor gatherings will be lowered from 50 to 25, and the limit for indoor gatherings -- including events and public spaces -- will be 10, which matches the limit for indoor gatherings at private residences. Unless it would risk the patient's health, all hospitals must also postpone or cancel all non-essential inpatient elective invasive procedures beginning Saturday.
Baker said the idea behind his newest restrictions, which which will be layered on top of the existing orders he has already issued, is to "pause activity and reduce mobility" for the two weeks immediately following Christmas in an attempt to prevent a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that could undermine the state's hospital systems.
As of Monday, the seven-day average number of new COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts was 3,489 -- that's up 90 percent from the seven-day average of 1,837 cases as of Nov. 8, the date Baker highlighted in his order. The seven-day weighted average of the positive test rate was 5.94 percent as of Monday, compared to 2.7 percent on Nov. 8. Since Thanksgiving, the number of people requiring hospital care for COVID-19 in Massachusetts has more than doubled from 986 patients to 1,991 patients.
"Our hospitals are now under significant pressure and we're heading toward another period, this holiday stretch, where we're likely to see another significant increase in cases and hospitalizations unless everybody plays a very different game than the one we all played at Thanksgiving," Baker said. "As a result, we think it's appropriate to take action now to slow that spread. And we must do so in a way that can avoid overriding our hospital system."
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