Tuesday, May 11, 2021 -
Mayor Kim Janey today announced the upcoming expansion of in-person city
services at Boston City Hall, the Boston Public Library system (BPL), and the
Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF). These services will expand
access to in-person city services and programming and opportunities for Boston
families ahead of summer, as public health metrics continue to improve.
“As the City prepares
for summer and our continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is
critical that we bring more city services back in person, especially as our
public health metrics improve,” said Mayor Janey. “I want to thank all of our
city departments that pivoted at the beginning of the pandemic to continue to
deliver critical services to residents safely. I’m excited to welcome back more
residents to City Hall and for the joy that reopening our libraries and city-sponsored
summer programming will bring.”
As of May 4, 2021, 44.3
percent of Bostonians are fully vaccinated, and 64.5 percent have received at
least one dose. The citywide community positivity rate continues to decrease,
dropping to 2.4 percent, with no neighborhoods above the 5.0 percent threshold.
New positive tests in the City of Boston decreased by 28 percent over the past
week, averaging 80.1 new positive tests per day. The total number of COVID-19
tests conducted in Boston remained stable at 2,960 tests, a decrease of 1% in
the past week. COVID-related emergency room visits decreased by 6 percent over
a two week period, and the percentage of occupied non-surgical ICU beds is 91
percent, under the threshold of 95 percent. We currently have 75 COVID-19
patients in Boston hospitals. That is one of the lowest numbers recorded since
the start of the pandemic.
The Boston Public Health
Commission closely tracks six core metrics to monitor the progress of the City’s response,
to guide decision making and to shape our response moving forward. The metrics
being monitored include trends related to the number of positive tests, overall
positivity and how COVID-19 is impacting our healthcare system.
Due to continuing
improvement in the City’s COVID-19 metrics, the following service changes will
take effect in the coming weeks:
Boston City Hall
Starting Monday, June 7,
2021, Boston City Hall will be open to the public by appointment only for a
fourth day each week. In addition to Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, residents
will be able to make in-person appointments on Monday as well. For the latest
status of City departments, visit here.
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library
will reopen for limited in-person services in June. With these expanded
services, BPL will prioritize bringing back critical services that help
residents with economic and educational recovery, and will be scheduling robust
summer programming for both adults and youth. All reopening plans will follow
the latest public health guidance, and BPL will provide further information in
the coming weeks.
Boston Center for Youth
& Families (BCYF)
Boston Centers for Youth
& Families (BCYF) will increase its youth programming to align with Phase
Four, Step One of the Reopening Massachusetts plan. This will allow for the expansion of
programming for children and youth, including arts and crafts, fitness classes,
and game nights. Additionally, BCYF will offer summer day programs at several
centers this summer, including Camp Joy, which provides programming for
children and young adults with special needs. BCYF will provide further updates
about their summer programming in the coming weeks, all in accordance with
public health guidance. For more information, visit boston.gov/BCYF.
“Boston’s long fight
against COVID-19 is starting to bring the end of this pandemic into view,” said
Mayor Janey. “I’ve asked my chiefs of Health and Human Services and Economic
Development to take a look at accelerating Boston’s reopening timeline, in
light of improving public health metrics across all of Boston’s communities.”
The City of Boston will
continue to monitor public health metrics and adjust services and openings
based on the latest COVID-19 data and trends. For more information on
reopening, visit boston.gov/reopening.
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