BOSTON GLOBE – It is a rare thing in the pandemic age: a weekend of citywide celebrations in Boston. It will also be a big test of where we are — and where we’re going — with COVID.
Thirty thousand runners are converging on the city for Monday’s Beacon Street , and spectators are expected to pack the bleachers and sidewalks along Boylston Street to cheer them on.
Churches and synagogues are opening their doors for Easter and Passover services.
The Celtics start their playoff run Sunday, and the Red Sox are in the midst of their first homestand.
Mother Nature appears prepared to cooperate, with spring temperatures and clear skies predicted for the race Monday.
“Everyone is ready to keep living,” she said. “We’re enjoying the spring weather and walking around mask-free.” – Runner Rhea Chatterjee
“We truly missed” the Marathon, said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association. “You can feel the energy starting to ramp back up in the neighborhood.”
11 events for runners, families, and spectators to celebrate the 126th Boston Marathon
But as the city emerges from darker days, there is a hint of anxiety in the air.
After a lull in COVID infections in the early spring, case counts and hospitalizations have risen in recent weeks, suggesting that a modest resurgence of the coronavirus may have begun. In Boston, positivity rates on COVID tests have nearly tripled since early March.
So, what comes next: a new crisis, or simply a new normal?
Health experts said the latter appeared more likely. Dr. Paul Biddinger, chief of emergency preparedness at Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest hospital system, said he is cautiously optimistic the increases in COVID indicators will not come to resemble the winter’s Omicron spike of the virus.
“The ebb and flow of COVID numbers is what we would expect to see going forward,” he said. “We will have to learn to live our lives” … READ MORE.
