Salem, Massachusetts –Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, Salem Acting Chief of Police Dennis King, and Salem Health Agent David Greenbaum, RS announced additional public safety guidelines in Salem in order to protect the health and well-being of residents, employees, and visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement was made during a press conference at the Mayor Jean Levesque Community Life Center in Salem.
Beginning Saturday morning, October 17 there will be additional restrictions in downtown Salem, especially focused on the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall, which, despite overall lower visitor numbers to the City this October, has seen large crowds the first two weeks of the month.
- Access will be restricted from the Peabody Essex Museum side of the mall as pedestrian volumes may require.
- All tents on the mall will be prohibited and additional barricades will be set up to limit entry lines.
- Downtown businesses that have not yet implemented reservation systems have been advised to implement one before this weekend. If cost is an impediment to using such a system, businesses can contact the City for assistance.
“Our message to those planning a trip to Salem this October at this point is to postpone your visit. Due to capacity restrictions, most businesses have changed to advance ticketing or, for restaurants, reservations are required,” said Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll. “Therefore, if you do not have a ticket or a reservation right now, you won’t be able to get in anywhere. We want our residents, visitors, and workers to be safe, and our visitors to have the possible experience when they come to Salem, and that’s just not possible this year.”
Today’s announcements are in addition to previous announcements from the City of Salem that include:
- Postponed the shift to Phase III, Step 2 reopening;
- Limited table capacities to six despite state allowances for up to 10;
- Canceled all Haunted Happenings parades, balls, festivals, and large events;
- Suspended all Haunted Happenings marketing earlier this year;
- Prohibited street performers in the central downtown area;
- Canceled the usual outdoor retail merchants;
- Instituted a mandatory mask zone downtown and inside businesses;
- Published a crowd meter at www.salem.com/crowds to reflect downtown crowd levels on October weekends; and
- Required those staying overnight in Salem to complete the local traveler form at www.salem.com/traveler.
Additional announcements regarding Halloween weekend in Salem will be made in the next week.
