Gyms, Movie Theaters, Museums Can Reopen In Boston On Monday

Gyms, movie theaters and museums are among the businesses in Boston that will be allowed to reopen Monday with a limited capacity, Mayor Marty Walsh said Tuesday.

The move will be the first part of a three-phase reopening plan that was made because of improving numbers around the spread of the coronavirus in the city, Walsh said at a City Hall news conference.

As of Jan. 17, the city was averaging more than 415 confirmed COVID-19 cases per day, down from a high of 590 earlier in the month, while the city’s positivity rate has fallen to 7.2%, down from nearly 9% in early January, officials said.

Reopening businesses will be limited to 25% capacity. All gatherings and events remain subject to current capacity limits of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors, the mayor said.

Walsh, President Joe Biden's nominee for labor secretary, also said a mass vaccination site at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in the city's Roxbury neighborhood is scheduled to open next week.

When Walsh announced the rollback in December, surrounding cities and towns announced similar restrictions during the holidays in response to the increasing strain on the health care system. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Lynn mayor told WBUR that the city would follow Boston in returning to phase three, step one of the reopening plan. However, a spokesperson for the city of Somerville confirmed restaurants there will continue to have a 9:30 p.m. curfew and the city will remain in a modified phase two, step two of the reopening plan.

Earlier this week, Gov. Charlie Baker lifted a statewide curfew on many businesses, citing a decline in coronavirus cases.