JM Leach
As of today, February 8, at 5 a.m., restaurants in Massachusetts can officially operate at 40 percent capacity. Gov. Charlie Baker announced the news in his February 4 press briefing. The course change eases restrictions that were put in place on December 26, 2020 that capped restaurant capacities at 25 percent.
Baker cited encouraging trends in public health data as the reason for dialing back restrictions for restaurants and other small business.
“Hospitalizations are down 33 percent since they peaked in January,” said Gov. Baker on Feb. 4. “And the seven day average of cases is also down by about 53 percent since its peak, from 6,120 down to 3,274.”