New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Michael P. Norton
State House News Service
The city of New Bedford is embracing the governor’s new allowances for dining, which allow restaurants to seat parties of ten diners per table, up from the previous limit of six, and to use bar seating for dining as long as social distancing guidelines are followed.
“Unlike Boston, who will remain limited to a maximum of six diners per table due to the City’s recent uptick in cases, New Bedford will be complying with the update in protocol without any changes,” the New Bedford Economic Development Council wrote in an email Monday. “We recognize how hard small businesses and restaurants throughout the City have been hit by COVID-19 and encourage you to consider buying and dining local in order to help support our community, culture, and economy.”
New Bedford is in the state’s red category for COVID-19 risks, with an average daily incidence rate of 9.4 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days, according to state data. The city’s positive test rate over the most recent 14-day period was 3.83 percent, a reduction from the previous weekly report.
