Lots of room at Revere Beach on Labor Day as city remains at high-risk level for COVID-19

REVERE, Mass. — Large crowds were scarce at Revere Beach on Labor Day, as the city remains at a high-risk level for COVID-19.

For some beach goers, the lack of people on the beautiful holiday came as a surprise.

“It’s beautiful here today and certainly not that many people,” said Ann Brown, a Chelmsford resident who hit the beach early on Monday. “It’s kind of shocking.”

Last week, the Department of Conservation and Recreation reduced parking at Revere Beach by 50 percent.

“I find it very pleasant right now. At noon time it’s not nearly as busy as it normally would be,” Nancy Mullen, another regular at Revere Beach, told Boston 25 News.

“At first I thought the beach wasn’t open because there were all barrels along here,” added Brown.

A team of nine Community Outreach members were also at the beach during the holiday, handing out hand sanitizer, masks and COVID-19 informational pamphlets in several different languages.

“The plan is to go throughout the month of September at least, but it started this weekend with the goal of reaching communities that are hard to reach, or perhaps speak English as a second language,” explained Marcony Alneida, a member of the MA Outreach Team.

According to Alneida, many people were interested in the free supplies.

“A lot of people are taking them. They are thankful that we’re giving out the information and so far it’s been a great success,” he said. “We’re going to keep pushing until the rates go down. So it’s a community effort.”

Last week, Governor Charlie Baker announced that the state is leaning on its COVID-19 Enforcement and Intervention Team, working with 5 high-risk towns which also include Lawrence, Lynn, Everett and Chelsea.

Revere remains in the “red” with more than 8 daily positive cases per 100,000 people.

Still, not everyone is on board with the stricter regulations.

“I understand the city is a hotspot, but I think after 4 months, 5 months, people are much more complacent now,” said Paul Fresco, who lives in Revere. “I think you’re going to see a lot more businesses, restaurants, sub shops, I think a lot more of them are going to close.”

Download the free Boston 25 News app for up-to-the-minute push alerts