City of Revere Provides Update on Business Support and Enforcement
December 16, 2020
Current business restrictions will remain in place, with increased monitoring of compliance
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 – Today Mayor Brian Arrigo provided an update on the City's current approach to business enforcement and work underway to provide greater financial support and incentives for businesses that comply with COVID safety guidelines. This morning the Revere Board of Health recorded 57 new cases of COVID-19 among residents. Revere is now averaging 91.1 new cases a day and its 14-day positivity rate is 10.2%.
Following an announcement Monday from neighboring cities and towns related to a rollback of business reopenings, the City of Revere is providing residents and businesses with a reminder of the current restrictions that will remain in place:
- Large retailers: Capacity at large retailers and supermarkets remains at five customers per 1,000 square feet of retail space. This restriction has been in place since early November. The City of Revere's Board of Health has consistently required and enforced stricter capacity limits than state guidelines require.
- Restaurants: Restaurants will continue to be permitted to offer indoor dining to customers with existing limits in place, including tables must be at a minimum of six feet apart, requirement for customers to wear masks unless they are actively eating or drinking, a 90-minute time limit for groups and a group size maximum of six. The majority of restaurants in Revere have not operated bar service since the onset of the pandemic and therefore restrictions related to bar service has not applied, except in the case of three establishments which are operating within current guidelines.
- Gyms and fitness centers: Facilities will continue to be permitted to operate at 40% of their total capacity, with masks required and existing cleaning, ventilation and other protocols in place. The City's gyms and fitness centers have demonstrated strong compliance with COVID safety requirements and two instances of non-compliance have been enforced and remedied.
- Other restrictions related to indoor entertainment and museum venues in neighboring communities are not applicable to the City of Revere.
"We have always used data as our guide to make the decisions that are right for the City of Revere," Mayor Arrigo said. "Throughout the pandemic, many of the measures we've had in place have been among the strictest in the Commonwealth to address high case rates in our city. We will continue to do what's right for our residents and businesses and follow the guidance of our public health experts. For our residents who want to support the businesses experiencing extreme hardship during this second surge, I would ask that they avoid large gatherings and remain vigilant in their exposure to others outside their household."
The Inspectional Services Department is reallocating inspection resources to rotate through the city's main business districts seven days a week. Weekend monitoring and enforcement will be increased and on average inspectors are conducting 660 inspections a week. Since August, the City's inspectional services department has conducted 6,143 inspections and documented 51 instances of non-compliance.
To-date the City of Revere has provided $414,500 to 104 businesses throughout the pandemic. Although federal relief funds expire December 30 and no new programs will be approved by the state before that deadline, the City is actively pursuing other means to provide additional financial support and incentives for Revere businesses who continue to experience hardship as a result of COVID-19 and demonstrate compliance with current COVID safety requirements and recommendations.
###