Colin A. Young
State House News Service
BOSTON - Citing improvements to COVID-19 metrics since the start of the year, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday that he will lift the 9:30 p.m. curfew that he imposed in November on restaurants and other businesses, effective Monday.
The post-December holiday season spike in COVID-19 activity was not as severe as the surge that followed Thanksgiving, the governor said, and the 30 percent drop in the positivity rate, 30 percent drop in new cases and 10 percent drop in hospitalizations that have materialized since Jan. 1 suggest it is time to begin easing up on some restrictions.
BOSTON â Citing improvements to COVID-19 metrics since the start of the year, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Thursday that he will lift the 9:30 p.m. curfew that he imposed in November on restaurants and other businesses, effective Monday.
The post-December holiday season spike in COVID-19 activity was not as severe as the surge that followed Thanksgiving, the governor said, and the 30 percent drop in the positivity rate, 30 percent drop in new cases and 10 percent drop in hospitalizations that have materialized since Jan. 1 suggest it is time to begin easing up on some restrictions.
âThese have been long and hard days for everybody, but our hospital system was able to continue to provide medical care for residents. And today, three weeks into 2021, our public health data is trending in a better direction for some categories like hospitalizations and the percent of positive COVID cases for the first time in a long time,â Baker said. He added, âVaccines are reachin
41 lawmakers are urging Charlie Baker to amend the eligibility criteria to make relief funding available to franchisees who still pay taxes, rent and employ residents of Massachusetts
President Biden stated last week that he will prioritize help for small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic based on the racial makeup and sex of their owners.
Small Business Grant Program provides $1.2M to businesses
Community Content
Dean of the Massachusetts Senate Marc R. Pacheco, D-Taunton, recently announced 22 businesses in the 1st Plymouth and Bristol district have been selected to receive a total of $1,210,000 through the COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program.
These awards to businesses in Bridgewater, Carver, Marion, Middleborough, Raynham, Taunton and Wareham, come in addition to a total of $1.8 million given to 31 local businesses in the 1st Plymouth and Bristol District over the past several weeks of COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program awards administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation.
“I am very pleased that 53 local businesses in the district I represent have been selected to receive a total of over $3 million in the three rounds of COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program awards,” said Sen. Pacheco. “With the ongoing pandemic causing major economic disruption for so many local businesses, I am pr