Chelsea is out of the red zone, but that doesn’t mean let your guards down

CHELSEA, Mass. — Day after day, month after month, Boston 25 News reporter Malini Basu has been reporting from hard hit Chelsea. The city manager told Basu that just because they’re out of the red zone doesn’t mean people can get complacent. But, the signs of hope had a local restaurant owner crying tears of joy.

“We’re just happy to be here, sorry…,” said Johanna Mateo, the owner of Catrachos Restaurant.

She and her brother own Catrachos Restaurant in the heart of Chelsea, where they feared the pandemic would shut them down for good.

“We have come out of this stronger,” Mateo said.

I met this incredible 28y/o. She owns a local Chelsea restaurant.

She cried tears of joy,b/c she was afraid of shutting down.

Chelsea is out of the🚨.

It’s a city built on immigrants working essential jobs.

They went through so much during the pandemic. @boston25 pic.twitter.com/lScmTv5Ucs
— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) March 2, 2021

But now, with Governor Charlie Baker slowly easing restrictions, Mateo said they are slowly getting back to normal.

“We have a light at the end of the tunnel,” said Mateo.

But, a light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t mean let down your guard.

“Please hear me clearly,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

Walensky expressed concerns about how states are rolling back on restrictions, while variants of the virus are still spreading.

“These variants are a real threat to our people and our progress. Now is not the time to relax the critical safe guards,” Walensky said.

“The city understands that we can’t rest just because we had moved from red,” said Tom Ambrosino, Chelsea city manager.

Ambrosino said the hard hit city is still not out of the woods.

“Specifically, our positivity rate dropped below five percent. It’s the first time we have done that,” said Ambrosino.

But the number of cases in Chelsea are still high. Right now, the city is only vaccinating about 200 people a day at La Colabrativa.

“We have to get everyone vaccinated. Once that happens, I’ll feel a lot better,” Ambrosino said.

The city manager said people in Chelsea need to keep following the COVID-19 restrictions. While the city’s COVID-19 case numbers are lower and many are getting back to work, they’re still seeing the need for food. Ambrosino said the city still needs all the help they can get from the government.

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