WILL THERE BE A ROLLBACK? Still hundreds a day. But the 812 new COVID-19 cases reported Monday in Massachusetts is the smallest single-day total since early last November. With that as backdrop, Gov. Charlie Baker continued this week to raise expectations that he will roll back on restrictions.
âStay tuned, he said Monday, when asked what he has in mind, in light of the fact that itâs been reported the Biden administration may relax outdoor mask use requirements. We re going to make some additional announcements here in Massachusetts this week, Baker said. He declined to say more. CNN reported Monday that President Joe Biden plans to update the federal government s mask policy on Tuesday.
WILLIAMS MANDATE: Williams College will require students to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 ahead of the 2021 fall semester, with exceptions only for medical or religious reasons.
The list of communities that the state considers high risk for COVID-19 transmission has shortened for the second straight week.
Massachusetts now counts 48 of its 351 communities on , compared to 59 the previous week. Lee and Williamstown dropped off the list after they were included last week, although Adams remains on the list for the fourth straight week.
In Adams, however, the 26 new cases in the past two weeks barely meet the stateâs threshold. The state counts communities with a population of under 10,000 as high risk if they have had more than 25 cases in the past two weeks.
The state considers Dalton, North Adams and Pittsfield to be moderate risk, and it classifies Great Barrington, Lee and Williamstown as lower risk. All other Berkshire communities fall in the lowest risk category.
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Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S., will reopen the Lanesborough movie house in May, the company has announced. The companyâs holdings include this Regal Cinemas location on 42nd Street in New York City. AP FILE PHOTO
BERKSHIRE MALL THEATER TO REOPEN MAY 21: Movies will return to the Regal Cinema at the Berkshire Mall in about a month, the national company that owns the site says. The Associated Press reports that Regal, the second-largest theater group in the U.S., closed early on in the pandemic.
Though it reopened theaters in some cities for a spell in 2020, it was a dark winter for movies. Regal said Wednesday its Fenway theater will open Friday. Other theaters will open May 7, with the Lanesborough theater to come back online May 21.