Massachusetts residents celebrate as coronavirus restrictions on businesses are lifted

People celebrated as Massachusetts returned to some sense of normalcy on Saturday, when the state dropped all remaining coronavirus restrictions on businesses.

Although masks still are required by some establishments, health care locations and on public transit, bars were fully reopened without government-issued capacity restrictions or a food-order requirement. So Kirsten Borror of Plymouth called her cousin, Kim Cully, and said, “Where are you? Let’s go have some fun.”

Cully lives in Quincy but happened to be in Somerville, where the two ended up at the The Burren, where they got to listen to some of the live music the Irish pub is famed for as they enjoyed drinks and a meal.

“You couldn’t ask for a better place to spend a rainy Memorial Saturday,” Borror said. “I see people on dates, I see gal pals together, and everyone’s smiling. People needed this more than ever. And you know what? It could be the roaring ’20s, honey.”

Tommy McCarthy, who owns The Buren and The Bebop in Boston, hails from County Clare in Ireland and plays a mean fiddle, said The Burren had music on its patio for a while, but it was exciting to have it back indoors in its front and back rooms.

“It was a long year, but we got through it, thank God,” McCarthy said. “It’s wonderful to see old faces coming back because they got vaccinated.”

Breweries, beer gardens, distilleries and wineries also could fully reopen on Saturday. So by mid-afternoon, Cheeky Monkey Brewing Co. in Boston, which reopened at the end of March after being closed for a year, was crowded with about 250 people.

No longer were customers required to order food, stay six feet apart, wear a mask unless they were drinking or eating, and stay away from the bar.

“Right now, it’s almost identical to pre-COVID,” said brewery manager Jason McCloud. “It’s good to see people here again and kind of be back to normal. It feels almost like New Year’s.”

The reopening also came in time for the first game of the Bruins playoff series against the New York Islanders, for whom the puck dropped Saturday night in front of a large crowd roaring their delight in a TD Garden that’s only had limited capacity up to this point. The building should have similar energy Sunday night for game four of the Celtics-Brooklyn Nets playoff series.

Kids’ ball pits also could reopen Saturday. And Boston-based Lee’s Playland, which rents them out, had 18 bookings but had to reschedule because of the rain, said owner Minoshia Wright.

“I have people booking left and right,” she said. “People are excited to be able to gather with their loved ones and celebrate again, and we like to think we bring an extra layer of fun to each event.”

Paul Connors contributed to this report.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3fvZuHW