BOSTON — Gyms in Boston are welcoming back members and the iconic duck boat tours are rolling again as the city enters the third phase of its coronavirus economic restart.
Boston begins Phase 3 on Monday, a week after most of the rest of Massachusetts, allowing museums, movie
The New England Aquarium and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum are among those expected to reopen this week.
Boston Duck Tours are also beginning on Monday. The company says its limiting the number of people on the duck boats so guests can socially distance and is requiring face masks for staff and guests.
Pat Smith, co-founder of a South Boston gym that reopens Monday, told The Boston Globe that most of its members have said they feel safe to return to working out in person.
“People are ready to roll, and get back to a little bit of normalcy,” said Smith of Lifted Fitness. “But only if they know the place they are going is taking the right precautions and being safe about it.”
But some residents are concerned that the reopenings could set Boston back in its coronavirus recovery.
“I feel like once the stuff starts to reopen, just like everywhere else in the country, there will be a surge in Boston and they’ll have to pull it back," Marc D’Amico told WHDH-TV.
A look at other coronavirus developments in Massachusetts:
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VIRUS BY THE NUMBERS
Massachusetts reported just five confirmed COVID-19-related deaths Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 8,330.
There were 230 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, reported Monday — bringing the total number of confirmed and probable cases to more than 111,800 in Massachusetts since the start of the pandemic.
There were 570 people reported hospitalized Monday because of COVID-19, while 89 were in intensive care units.
The number of confirmed and probable COVID-19 related deaths at long-term care homes rose to 5,241 — or more than 63% of all confirmed and probable deaths in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.
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CASINO REOPENS
All three casinos in Massachusetts are now back in business.
MGM Springfield reopened Monday morning, following the reopening of Encore Boston Harbor in Everett on Sunday. Plainridge Park Casino, a slots
The casinos, which have been shuttered for nearly four months, have reopened under strict guidelines from the state’s Gaming Commission.
Guests are required to wear face masks and aren’t allowed to carry or drink beverages while moving around the casino floor. Capacity has also been capped, dining options have been limited, and bars and nightclubs remain closed.
At MGM and Encore, poker, roulette and craps games also aren’t being offered and plastic barriers have been installed at blackjack and other table games. Slot machines have been spaced out and barriers installed at all three casinos.
In addition, MGM Springfield says its hotel will remain closed for now, and Encore is conducting temperature checks on guests and employees.
The Associated Press
