Updated at 2:56 p.m.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told reporters Wednesday that the city is beginning to see a decline in its rate of new COVID-19 cases.
“Our city’s average of new cases has leveled off a bit,” he said. “We’re moving in the right direction, and a lot of that is in the precautions we’re taking."
He added a note of caution, stating that "the curve is slowly bending. ... We still have a long way to go before we can safely launch a recovery plan.”
As of Tuesday, there were 10,241 confirmed cases in Boston, an increase of 164 from the previous day, and the city's death toll stood at 449, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.
Walsh also announced that the city will now aim to conduct 1,500 diagnostic tests daily. Though last week there was an increase in testing from the previous week, Walsh said Boston is still hundreds of tests short of its goal.
“We certainly have some work to do,” he said, “but we have a plan to get there.”
The mayor added that the city plans to expand testing at community health centers and will start mobile testing this month.
In the wake of nationwide reports of disparities in police enforcement of social distancing regulations, Walsh also sought to encourage area communities of color that Boston would enforce regulations equitably.
“The purpose of our guidelines is to empower you,” he said, “not to punish you.”
