Somerville mayor delays city’s Phase 3 reopening by 2 weeks

SOMERVILLE, Mass. — Somerville will begin Phase 3 of reopening on July 20, two weeks after the governor’s state-wide start date. Mayor Joseph Curtatone announced the delay on Friday, stating that he felt Phase 3 was among the riskiest phases so far and that Massachusetts was moving too quickly.

“As we now move to indoor activities where there is a higher risk of transmission, it is concerning because we know we’re going to face a resurgence,” he said in an interview with Boston 25 News on Saturday.

Somerville is the most densely populated city in the commonwealth and, so far, the COVID-19 transmission rate has been relatively low.

Curtatone said he is determined not to jeopardize the community’s progress.

“We want to be smart about when we’re thinking about reopening because we do not want a catalyst for resurgence here in Somerville, and our approach thus far has paid off as we have a much lesser transmission rate than the rest of the commonwealth. Thirty-three losses. Thirty-three people have passed away as a result of COVID,” he said.

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Curtatone added that he worries about a second surge in the Fall.

“We’ve paid a steep price so far. The question I have is do we want to pay that same price or worse, or do we want to avoid that type of disaster?” he said.

Some Somerville businesses in Phase 3 told Boston 25 News that they won’t be affected by the delay because they’re already struggling financially from the state’s restrictions.

The Director of Operations for Somerville Theatre, Ian M. Judge, told Boston 25 News the following by email:

“As it stands, the city’s actions do not currently impact us directly because the statewide restrictions already in place (no indoor food sales and a cap of 25 people per auditorium) make reopening financially unfeasible to begin with. We would not be able to reopen regardless of the city’s delay.”

Tommy McCarthy, the owner of The Burren restaurant in Davis Square, said Saturday that he was in favor of a more cautious approach to the city’s reopening.

“I think we’re lucky to be in the state of Massachusetts where the governor and mayors have held back and listened to the scientists,” he said. “I wouldn’t like to be down south where you’re opening up and closing, and it seems to be chaos down there.”

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