MBTA News

Effective Sunday, June 21, regular weekday service will operate on the Blue Line with increased weekday service on the Red, Orange, Green, and Mattapan Lines as staffing levels permit. Additional service on weekends will also be added on the Mattapan Line.

The MBTA continues to follow guidance from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health with the MBTA encouraging its riders and the public to:

· Practice social distancing at all times when leaving the home for essential trips; · Stay home if sick and avoid close contact with others; · Wash hands often with soap and water for at least twenty seconds; · Use alcohol-based hand sanitizing gel with at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available; · Avoid touching eyes, nose, and mouth; · Clean areas that are frequently touched with sanitizing spray or wipes; · Cover coughs and sneezes, and use a tissue or the inner elbow, not hands.

For more information, please visit mbta.com/coronavirus, mass.gov/COVID19, or connect with the T on Twitter @MBTA, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA.

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Restaurant Relief

House Passes Bill to Support Commonwealth’s Restaurants

BOSTON – House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo and Representative Steven Ultrino joined his colleagues in the House to pass legislation that provides more tools to the restaurants of Massachusetts in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The legislative package adopted today aims to assist a sector that has been hard hit by COVID-19. The measures passed are intended to help restaurants weather the economic crisis in the wake of the pandemic. The package eases outdoor dining restrictions, expands alcohol delivery options to include mixed drinks, extends takeout options to February 2021, waives interest on late meals tax payments and caps the amount that can be charged a food delivery service.

In 2019, the House created the Restaurant Promotion Commission, which is being repurposed as the Restaurant Recovery Commission. The bill builds on the House’s general focus on restaurants and previous action to permit alcohol delivery with meals as well as its focus on restaurants as an anchor on main streets.

“No corner of the small business sector has been more affected by the pandemic than our restaurants,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop) said. “I’m grateful to Chairs Michlewitz, Gregoire, Chan, McMurtry, Representative Day and my colleagues in the House for this bill which could make a real difference in preserving jobs in the Commonwealth.”

“I was happy to work with my colleagues to pass this critical piece of legislation that will provide much needed relief to food and beverage establishments,” said Representative Ultrino. “It is necessary to address the challenges which the COVID-19 Pandemic has imposed on restaurants to ensure that they can begin to rebuild their business during these trying times.”

The package:

· Streamlines the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) approval process for restaurants to establish outdoor seating by waiving the approval of these licenses. Instead, it only requires restaurants to notify and place on file with the ABCC their outdoor seating plan;

· Temporarily suspends some relevant local zoning laws on outdoor seating if cities and towns wish to do so;

· Waives interest and late penalties for restaurants on their meals tax payments until December 2020;

· Allows restaurants to include cocktails to-go with take-out food until February 2020;

· Caps commissions on on-line restaurant delivery at 15% across the board so that these apps can continue to operate without placing an undue burden on our restaurants.

The bill will now go to the Senate.

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COVID-19 Data Bill Passes House

Legislature Passes Bill to Collect COVID-19 Data & Address Health Disparities

Focuses on Elder Care Facilities, Key Demographic Information and Disproportionally Impacted Communities

BOSTON- Representative Steven Ultrino (D-Malden) joined Speaker DeLeo and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Legislature to pass a bill to make more information about COVID-19 cases publicly available, including cases at elder care facilities, soldiers’ homes, and houses of correction; it also creates a task force to provide recommendations on how to mitigate health disparities for underrepresented and underserved communities in the wake of the pandemic.

Taken together, the provisions of An Act addressing COVID-19 data collection and disparities in treatment will provide the public with a greater understanding on how the virus is affecting those in locations hardest hit by the pandemic, including elder care facilities and urban areas. The task force, in turn, will make recommendations to alleviate disparities in infection and treatment among populations disproportionally impacted by the outbreak.

“Whether it’s our elderly, our veterans, residing in soldiers’ homes, who have served our country bravely, persons of color, or residents in those communities experiencing a particularly large share of the impact from COVID-19, the burden of this virus has fallen disproportionately on key demographics. We need to make sure we have the best information on the toll the virus is taking in Massachusetts. I look forward to the findings of the task force to determine how we can address the impact of this virus in underserved and underrepresented communities,” said House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo (D-Winthrop). “I thank Chairs Michlewitz and Balser, Vice Chair Gonzalez and my colleagues in the House for their work on this important bill.”

“I was proud to join my colleagues in the House to pass this essential bill which will improve reporting and data collection as well is address disparities in treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Representative Ultrino said. “It is crucial, especially during times of emergency, to ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable populations are not getting overlooked.”

The components of the bill are as follows:

· Requires the Department of Public Health to collect daily data on the number of individuals tested positive, hospitalized, deaths, and key demographic information, including cases and mortalities at elder care facilities;

· Specifies details on the format of reporting data from local boards of health and elder care facilities;

· Mandates that elder care facilities notify residents and their healthcare proxies if there is a new confirmed case or mortality due to COVID-19 or 3 or more residents or staff have symptoms;

· Includes the Department of Corrections and each House of Correction among those facilities which must comply with the data collection and reporting provisions of the bill;

· Creates a task force to study and make recommendations on addressing health disparities for underserved or underrepresented populations based on a variety of demographic factors;

· Asks that the task force provide recommendations to improve safety for at-risk populations for COVID-19, remove barriers to quality and equitable health care services, increase access to medical supplies and testing, among other items.

The bill now moves to the governor for consideration.

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