CORONAVIRUS

Massachusetts increases its reopening as virus wanes

The Associated Press
Tracy Casavant, left, owner of Bittersweet Shoppe on Newbury Street, sells lemonade with Cheryl Johnson, Saturday, June 6, in Boston. Gov. Charlie Baker announced retail stores, restaurants and hotels will be allowed to serve customers on Monday as the state moves to phase 2 of reopening businesses.

BOSTON — Diners will be able to eat outside in Massachusetts, and retail stores, day camps and day care centers will be allowed to resume operations Monday during the next phase of loosening restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Gov. Charlie Baker announced.

"Thanks to your hard work and your sacrifices, we're bringing the fight to the virus, we're moving forward and Massachusetts is continuing to reopen," Baker said Saturday at the Statehouse.

There will be strict requirements for masks and social distancing for businesses that reopen Monday.

Indoor dining will be remain off limits, Baker said. Day camps and child care facilities can open, but not overnight camps, Baker said. And hotels and motels will be allowed to accept all guests, not just essential workers, he said.

Baker said he's comfortable with moving forward with reopening the economy because the state has recorded a fall in the number of new cases and hospitalizations.

The Department of Public Health moved the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations into "positive trend" status for the first time on Friday. The state already reported testing capacity and the rate of tests that come back positive were on a positive trajectory.

Massachusetts was one of the hardest hit states and through Friday had reported 7,235 COVID-19-related deaths and 102,557 cases. It’s peak of daily cases was 4,946 on April 24. On Friday, the state reported 471 cases and 49 deaths.

New Hampshire

The state on Saturday announced five new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the state’s total to 283. Of the new deaths, all were age 60 and older and from Hillsborough County.

The state announced 74 new positive test results for COVID-19. There have now been 5,019 cases diagnosed in New Hampshire. Of the new cases with complete information, five are under age 18. The new cases reside in Hillsborough County other than Manchester and Nashua (20), Rockingham (20), Merrimack (4), Grafton (2), and Strafford (1) counties, and in the Manchester (20) and Nashua (4).

Eleven new hospitalized cases were identified for a total of 487 (10%) of 5,019 cases; 84 people are currently hospitalized.

The state has now conducted 84,009 tests to detect the virus and 13,604 antibody tests.

In other news, the state is expanding curbside pickup at state liquor stores during the pandemic. The curbside and in-store pickup program started last month at the Hampton store on Interstate 95 North and the Interstate 93 North store in Hooksett last month. It was expanded to the southbound stores in those towns this week, and will be offered in Pembroke, Manchester and Londonderry starting Thursday.

Rhode Island

A 100-year-old Rhode Island woman whose life was claimed by COVID-19 has been laid to rest next to her husband, who died from the disease several weeks earlier, also at age 100.

Because of the pandemic, only 10 loved ones were on hand to say goodbye when Jill Caldarone was buried Tuesday next to her husband, Bill, who was the state's oldest Marine when he died, the Providence Journal reported.

At age 92, Jill Caldarone chronicled their lives in a book, "Bill and Jill from Federal Hill." She was a master gardener and real estate agent. Her husband served in World War II and Korea.

Their youngest son, Ron, 72, told the Providence Journal the statistics from the pandemic don't tell the full story.

"My father and mother weren't just numbers," he said.

Maine

Ridership for the Maine State Ferry Service has dropped more than 50% since the state confirmed its first case of the virus in March.

Ferry service officials also expect ridership to be down for much of the summer, typically the busiest time of the year. On Memorial Day weekend, passenger traffic was down 57% and vehicle traffic was down 33%.

"It is what it is. We're in the middle of a pandemic," Maine State Ferry Service Manager Mark Higgins, told the Bangor Daily News.

The decline in revenue will be offset by $2 million in federal funding that the service recently received through the CARES Act, officials said.

Maine officials on Saturday reported three new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the state’s total to 98. The state reported 36 new cases on Saturday, putting Maine’s total at 2,482.

Vermont

The town of Brattleboro is taking steps to make it easier for downtown businesses to provide outdoor service amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Select Board this week authorized the town manager to assign "parklets" to businesses for areas for dining and drinking, the Brattleboro Reformer reported. Parklets are spaces traditionally used for parking that are turned into outdoor seating.

The board approved buying barriers and setting up as many as 12 such areas. Also, the town clerk is now allowed to issue outside alcohol consumption permits, which the board traditionally handled.