SALEM, Mass. — It’s normal to see large crowds in downtown Salem in October, but during a pandemic, it’s becoming a big concern for city leaders after people packed downtown on the first weekend of the month.
“It was busy,” said Karen Davis, who owns Coon’s Cards and Gift Shop downtown. “It was busy, and it was unexpected because the tent does really well, but because we have the limit in the store, the tent was really busy.”
Davis set up social distancing markings around her pop-up tent just outside her store to keep people spread out with the capacity limits inside, but still she says there were already big crowds this weekend.
The coronavirus is a whole new scare for this city, which draws thousands every October for Halloween festivities.
“We thought it was going to be scary to the other extreme because it’s too full moons, it’s the longest possible October you could have,” said Davis. “So I was scared in that aspect and then this put a whole new level onto it for me.”
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Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll says it was a little too busy this past weekend with crowds not always social distancing.
“You had three-quarters of the crowd and maybe only a quarter of the sorts of things people could typically do, which meant there was some congestion particularly at some pinch points, and lines queueing up, so we’re concerned about that for sure,” said Driscoll.
Driscoll wants to remind visitors that downtown Salem is a mandatory mask zone, and there really shouldn’t be lines of people outside businesses.
The city has also created a crowd level reporting tool on their website, where you can see how busy Salem is on a Friday or Saturday this month (Level 1 is least crowded and level 6 is most crowded).
“We can’t put a gate at the city line,” said Driscoll. “Restaurants are allowed to open, hotels are allowed to open, shops are allowed to open with restrictions, the problem is when so many people come at one time or one place, that’s when we see the congestion.”
Mayor Driscoll says it may be best for visitors to avoid the city this month to keep COVID-19 in check.
“If you’re not already booked, don’t have a reservation, you might want to save it for next year,” said Driscoll. “We are due for a big party next year and we will have one here, but this year, we’ve got to keep people safe.”
Mayor Driscoll says the plans for Halloween weekend are still fluid, but she really hopes anyone who visits will follow the city’s COVID-19 rules.
Related:
Salem mayor on tourism: Fewer crowds, won’t be ‘ghost town’
Virus halts, changes New England’s fall traditions
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