After a couple of weeks of declines, Boston Covid-19 numbers going up again, and fast, Walsh says

Mayor Walsh said today that Boston has seen "a significant uptake in the last couple of days" in Covid-19 numbers: 825 new cases reported over those two days.

"That's a lot of cases," he said at a City Hall press conference this afternoon. Just a couple weeks ago, Boston was seeing new case numbers of around 185 a day.

"I'm pretty concerned" about the two days of rapidly rising numbers, Walsh said adding he realizes that just three days ago, he was looking forward to re-opening schools and restaurants, but no longer.

And now, there's not much left we can do short of shutting everything down, he said. "That's the next step," so people, wash your hands and cut it out with the large parties, he said, adding hospitalization is a critical number to watch. He said hospitalization and ICU rates have ticked up this week.

Walsh repeated the litany of steps residents should be taking: Wear masks outdoors, wash hands and workplaces frequently, practice social distancing and stop having parties. He added that people over 65 or with serious underlying conditions should not even eat out.

And everybody, get tested, he said: "I know it's a little cold today, but go out and get tested."

Marty Martinez, the city's chief of health and human services, says the city is talking with community health centers about vaccine distribution once vaccines become available. He said a key issue will be just getting people to trust the vaccine and its safety.

"It's going to have to be an effort that the community really feels confident in it," he said.