Restaurants, gyms and other businesses in Massachusetts will be able to step their capacity back up to 40% starting Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday.
An emergency order capping capacities at many businesses at 25 percent took effect Dec. 26, and Baker has twice extended it in two-week increments.
Indoor performance venues and recreational businesses will remain closed until there is further "sustained improvement" in public health data, Baker said, and the gathering limits remain at 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors.
"We know that these restrictions have been and continue to be enormously difficult for large and small businesses, their employees and individuals everywhere, but we're making progress in this battle against COVID, and everyone's hard work and preparation is now making it possible for us to continue to step back to what we might call a new normal," the governor said.
When Baker first announced the stricter capacity limits, on Dec. 22, he said they were intended to "pause activity and reduce mobility" for at least the two weeks immediately following Christmas in hopes of preventing a significant jump in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations that could overwhelm the medical system. At the time, the seven-day average positive test rate was 5.94 percent and 1,991 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized.
As of Wednesday, the positivity rate was 3.3 percent and 1,635 people were in hospitals for COVID-19 care. Baker said the state has seen "positive trends" in COVID-19 metrics since 2021 began.
