Struggling restaurant owners want to increase COVID restrictions – CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) – The number of COVID cases in Massachusetts is down 65% in the past two weeks. Some business owners are wondering why COVID restrictions are still in place, which makes them feel normal.

“Mayor Wu, we need help,” said restaurant owner Doug Bacon. “It’s time to move away from these restrictions and mandates.”

READ MORE: ‘Watch out for the freezing of lightning’: Governor Baker urges residents to stay out of the streets during Friday’s storm

As we reach the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bacon, who owns eight restaurants and bars in Boston, believes now is the time to ease up on mask and vaccine mandates.

“Some of the cities and towns around us don’t have vaccine regulations,” Bacon said. “When a group of people go out, if even one person is not vaccinated – they go to Quincy, Somerville or somewhere else.”

But is it safe to make a mask at home? We’re almost done, says a Tufts Medical Center epidemiologist.

READ MORE: Hopkinton police search for Hit-And-Run driver who seriously injured the other man

“I think in the next few weeks it would make sense to start lifting some of the things that we have already laid out to tighten us up for the winter spike,” said Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vazquez. Gabriela Andujar Vazquez said.

The decision in Boston is up to Mayor Michelle Wu, who says she is still weighing the risks. “Public health and public safety have always driven our decision-making first in the city of Boston and narrowed the disparities we have seen more deeply during the pandemic,” said Wu.

Struggling restaurant owners are asking if not now, when?

MORE NEWS: The sandwich couple found parts of the iconic boardwalk damaged in the blizzard

“Can we hope that it could be in a week, two weeks?” Bacon said. “It’s been a roadblock and everyone in Boston in my industry is feeling it and it’s arbitrary and it’s time to move on.”