LYNN — A day after Boston extended its rollback for another three weeks, Mayor Thomas M. McGee has announced Lynn will remain rolled back to a modified Phase 2, Step 2 of the state’s economic reopening plan until further notice.
Lynn reverted to the earlier phase, which placed restrictions on certain businesses and closed other establishments, on Dec. 18 based on the surging COVID-19 case numbers seen after the Thanksgiving holiday.
At the time of the rollback order, McGee said he and Public Health Director Michele Desmarais would make a determination on or before Jan. 6, regarding whether the city would remain in Phase 2 based on the post-holiday health metrics.
On Wednesday, McGee and Desmarais signed two executive orders extending the rollback, which will “remain in effect until rescinded following the monitoring and a determination that these activities no longer constitute an immediate risk to the public health of the community,” according to a statement from McGee’s office.
The orders, which are aimed at reducing the indoor social gatherings that city officials say have contributed to much of the recent virus surge, require certain businesses to close that were open in Phase 3, such as gyms, museums and indoor event spaces, and place restrictions on restaurants and bars.
“Any more stringent orders issued by the commonwealth would supersede conflicting provisions of this order,” the statement said. “The city continues to see a surge in COVID-19 cases as a result of the holiday season, and we expect to continue over the next several weeks.”
Lynn marked a new single-day high for virus cases on Tuesday, with 210 cases reported over a 24-hour period. The city reported another 162 cases and two additional deaths on Wednesday to bring the city’s caseload to 12,078 and its death toll to 163, according to city data.
A total of 2,058 cases remain active and 9,857 people have recovered, according to city data.
Under the orders, indoor gyms and fitness centers; indoor non-athletic instructional classes in arts, education and life sciences; indoor recreational and athletic facilities, except for youth 18 and under; indoor recreational venues with potential for low contact, such as batting cages, bowling alleys, driving ranges and rock climbing; indoor historical spaces and sites; and indoor event spaces, such as meeting rooms and social clubs will remain closed.
Indoor dining in restaurants will remain open with particular adherence to bar seating guidelines and permission from the city’s public health department. Bar-related activities such as pool tables, darts and trivia will be prohibited.
Under the modified rollback, gatherings in private and public settings will be required to remain below 10 people for indoor settings and 25 for outdoor settings.
“The important message is: stay home unless you have to go out for essential purposes over the next three weeks,” McGee said on Tuesday. “Don’t do non-essential gatherings in any indoor settings, which can lead to the spread.”
New cases were also reported in Lynnfield, Peabody and Revere on Wednesday.
Lynnfield (727 cases, 20 deaths) reported 14 new cases, Peabody (4,484 cases, 236 deaths) has reported 163 new cases and three additional deaths since Monday, and Revere (7,293 cases, 124 deaths) reported 117 new cases.
Numbers remained the same in Nahant (156 cases, six deaths) and have not been updated in Marblehead (735 cases, 31 deaths), Saugus (2,441 cases, 51 deaths), or Swampscott (645 cases, 11 deaths) since Monday.
