Somerville Deviating From State Reopening Timeline

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville will adhere to a different reopening timeline than that outlined by Gov. Charlie Baker Monday. Some elements of the state plan will be enacted immediately, some will be modified, and some will undergo further assessment to ensure workers and residents are protected from transmission of the coronavirus, city officials said.

Somerville is also working to ensure the local economic recovery is better insulated from a potential second surge of the disease.

Here is what Somerville will and will not be reopening at this time:

• Nonessential construction started phasing in Monday according to the plan Somerville announced two weeks ago.
• Hospital and medical care facilities will be resuming high-priority preventative care visits as of today, and other medical providers will restart services on Monday, May 25, in accordance with the State timeline and safety guidelines.
• Curbside retail also will begin on Monday, May 25, as allowed in the state plan.
• All additional reopening steps remain on temporary hold as the city assesses the state plan in order to make sure those phases of the reopening are practical and safe for our community. This includes, for example, hair salons, houses of worship, and playgrounds.

"Our goal is to build on the good work that the governor and the state's Reopening Advisory Board have done and make sure each element of our reopening can be implemented successfully," Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement. "We have been told repeatedly by experts that we have to be extremely careful about large gatherings of people and to limit close contact as much as is humanly possible. We must also recognize we are a long way from having this disease under control. In a dense urban environment, we need to give careful consideration to every action we take. So we are performing extra diligence to ensure workers and worshipers can return safely to those activities."

Officials are working to make sure there are not disproportionate health consequences for already vulnerable communities. Workers and consumers, for example, need to know how to raise concerns and be assured they have protections from retaliation if they do so, officials said.

Additional issues the city is reviewing include monitoring, adequate testing for the returning workforce, safe public transit, gaps in sick leave coverage, access to protective equipment, and what kind of support the state will offer for enforcement.

The city will release specifics about the local reopening in the coming days as it establishes policies, timelines and seeks answers from the state.

"Ultimately this is not a choice between public health and the economy," Curtatone said. "Our economy will not thrive if the health of everyone is not adequately protected. The State has given us a lot to work through, and our aim is to do so responsibly but also quickly. We also will be working with neighboring communities to try to stay on the same page within our urban core. We must recognize that what works right now for the Berkshires is not necessarily right for metro Boston."

For more information and regular COVID-19 updates, visit www.somervillema.gov/coronavirus and sign up for city alerts at www.somervillema.gov/Alerts. Also follow FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.