News

The Baker-Polito Administration launched a $668 million program to provide financial assistance to Massachusetts small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program in part relies on the pending federal COVID-19 relief bill recently passed by Congress. Regardless of the developments at the federal level, the Baker-Polito Administration will start releasing millions in new funding to restaurants, retailers, and other small businesses throughout the Commonwealth as soon as next week.

The City of Cambridge announced that in addition to Governor Baker's capacity restrictions released on December 22, 2020 in the Governor’s COVID-19 Order # 59, the City is issuing a temporary emergency order to further reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Cambridge. Effective at 12:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 26, the City of Cambridge will roll back to a modified Phase II, Step 2 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Massachusetts Plan until at least 12:00 a.m. on January 16, 2021, or until further modified.

The Cambridge Community Foundation and the City of Cambridge have awarded a total of $257,500 in grants to 25 Cambridge-based arts and cultural organizations through the Cultural Capital Fund. Created in late October with a founding $500,000 gift from the Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund and a $100,000 investment from the Wagner Foundation, the fund was established to address urgent needs in the sector due to COVID-19 and to protect the city’s cultural richness over the long term.

On December 22, 2020, the Baker-Polito Administration announced further restrictions to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth, including new capacity and gathering limits. These measures will go into effect on Saturday, December 26 and will remain in effect until noon on January 10, 2021.

Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale announced the opening of the Transition Wellness Center (TWC), a new temporary emergency homeless shelter at the Spaulding Hospital.

This year’s holiday season will be different. Due to the pandemic, many of us won’t be with family and friends as usual. But we can still celebrate! Keep in mind that the outlook for a more normal holiday season in 2021 is promising with a COVID-19 vaccine for the public on the horizon, and it is very likely that we’ll be able to celebrate the winter holidays in-person next year.

Governor Baker announced that he will institute a statewide rollback to Phase III, Step 1 of the Commonwealth’s Reopening Plan on Sunday, December 13. Cambridge has remained at Step 1 of Phase III since the summer.

Effective today December 7, 2020, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has aligned its quarantine recommendations with those issued last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new guidance is based on recent CDC data showing that shortened quarantine periods result in only a small chance that someone may develop COVID-19 after leaving quarantine. The small risk that someone may develop COVID-19 after a shortened strict quarantine period is outweighed by the expected benefit of reduced transmission from the expected increased cooperation with adherence to the quarantine, according to the CDC.

Because COVID-19 cases in Cambridge have increased, and have surpassed the thresholds set in partnership with our scientific advisors, CPS will make a temporary shift to remote learning for all students beginning on Thursday, December 10.

The City of Cambridge announced today that the Housing Stabilization Program has committed nearly $1.2 million to 245 Cambridge households financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.