Worcester city officials pleaded with the public to be safe during the latest rise in coronavirus cases on Thursday, but said they will not scale back opening restrictions for restaurants and other businesses.
“I do think it’s challenging for one city to do, to shut down restaurants or stores, when people can go to the next town over to do that,” City Manager Edward Augustus said in a press conference outside City Hall. “You don’t necessarily get the benefit of that, in that people are just going to travel to other places, and then you hurt your businesses. It’s a challenge for individual communities to do it.”
“We’re certainly talking amongst ourselves about things that we can do,” Augustus said.
Worcester has seen its highest case levels yet in the last few weeks, including more than 1,000 new cases in the most recent eight days through Thursday. That includes 278 new cases on Wednesday alone.
The city has not placed new restrictions on restaurants allowing indoor dining, for example. Gov. Charlie Baker also has not put stricter limits in place as statewide cases have reached their highest points yet. Massachusetts had 6,477 new cases on Thursday, by far its highest yet, in a total that includes 680 the state said were from before Dec. 1.
Even higher levels are expected in a few weeks that would reflect cases caught during Thanksgiving, Dr. Michael Hirsh, the city’s medical director, said.
“This is all very, very dire, and it doesn’t yet reflect the next wave that’s going to come from Thanksgiving travel,” he said.
While keeping business operating guidelines in place, Augustus and other city officials pleaded on Thursday for the public to be more vigilant in wearing masks, staying at a safe distance from others, and washing hands. City leaders have held informational meetings with restaurant officials and with property managers, and have another scheduled for next week with day care centers and schools that have remained open. Worcester Public Schools are operating remotely.
“We’ve done everything we know how to do. We’ve begged, we’ve cajoled. We’ve tried coming up with creative ways to get people to comply with the protocol,” Augustus said.
The city manager urged the public to be safe not only for themselves but also for loved ones and healthcare workers who’ve been treating virus patients for more than nine months.
“Let’s do it for them, because they’ve been with us every step of the way,” he said.
