Boston Halts Phase 3 Step 2 Reopening as COVID Positive Rate Hits 3.5 Percent

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6471 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston held its Phase 3 Step 2 reopening as the city's COVID-19 positive rate jumped to 3.5 percent, up from 2.7 percent the prior week. Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced at an indoor press conference that indoor performance venues would remain closed, outdoor venue capacity would stay capped at 25 percent with a 50-person maximum, and that Boston expected to enter the state's red-risk zone — defined as more than eight new cases per day per 100,000 residents — by Tuesday evening.

East Boston and two Dorchester zip codes were reporting positive rates above 7 percent, and Walsh said roughly half of recent cases involved residents under 29. Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez said the red designation "is not unexpected and it's based only on one data point," pledging continued targeted testing in affected neighborhoods. Walsh said Boston Public Schools would begin hybrid in-person learning for the highest-need students the following day, contingent on the citywide rate staying below 4 percent, and warned that house parties in South Boston, Allston-Brighton, and Mission Hill were driving outbreaks: "We're seeing small outbreaks due to parties, due to college students, due to, quite honestly, irresponsibility."

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Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6471 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.