As Boston Covid-19 rate drops, city announces vague plans for re-opening libraries, offers a few more specifics on community centers

The mayor's office announced today that a continuing decline in Boston Covid-19 rates and hospitalization means both city libraries and community centers will be able to offer additional in-person services starting next month, although an announcement from City Hall said we'll have to wait for details.

Also, starting June 7, people with city business will be able to make appointments to visit City Hall departments four days a week instead of the current three, with Monday joining Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

BPL "will reopen for limited in-person services in June," the mayor's office says.

With these expanded services, BPL will prioritize bringing back critical services that help residents with economic and educational recovery, and will be scheduling robust summer programming for both adults and youth. All reopening plans will follow the latest public health guidance, and BPL will provide further information in the coming weeks.

AT BCYF, the announcement was a bit more specific:

This will allow for the expansion of programming for children and youth, including arts and crafts, fitness classes, and game nights. Additionally, BCYF will offer summer day programs at several centers this summer, including Camp Joy, which provides programming for children and young adults with special needs. BCYF will provide further updates about their summer programming in the coming weeks, all in accordance with public health guidance.

In a statement, acting Mayor Kim Janey said:

As of May 4, 2021, 44.3 percent of Bostonians are fully vaccinated, and 64.5 percent have received at least one dose. The citywide community positivity rate continues to decrease, dropping to 2.4 percent, with no neighborhoods above the 5.0 percent threshold. New positive tests in the City of Boston decreased by 28 percent over the past week, averaging 80.1 new positive tests per day. The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted in Boston remained stable at 2,960 tests, a decrease of 1% in the past week. COVID-related emergency room visits decreased by 6 percent over a two week period, and the percentage of occupied non-surgical ICU beds is 91 percent, under the threshold of 95 percent. We currently have 75 COVID-19 patients in Boston hospitals. That is one of the lowest numbers recorded since the start of the pandemic.