Capacity Limits, Gathering Limits, and Elective Surgeries

On Tuesday, December 22, the Baker-Polito administration announced that from December 26, the capacity at most businesses in Massachusetts will be subject to a 25% capacity limit, indoor gatherings will be limited to 10 people, outdoor gatherings will be limited to 25 people, and hospitals are directed to postpone or cancel all nonessential inpatient elective invasive procedures.

On January 7, the limits were extended until January 26.

Click here to read the Dec. 22 announcement

Click here to read the Jan. 7 announcement

On Tuesday, December 8, the Baker-Polito administration announced that all communities in Massachusetts will return to Step 1 of Phase 3, of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan on Sunday, December 13.

Changes include:

• Capacity limits will be reduced to 40% statewide for most industries, including gyms, retail, offices, and places of worship
• The limit on outdoor gatherings will be reduced statewide from 100 persons to 50 persons
• Hosts of outdoor gatherings of greater than 25 people will be required to provide advance notice of the gathering their local board of health
• Indoor theaters and performance venues and higher contact indoor recreation businesses will be required to close to the public
• Outdoor theaters and performance venues will be limited to 25% capacity, and no more than 50 people

The Administration also announced updated restaurant guidelines, including:

• Patrons must wear masks at all times except when eating and drinking
• Restaurants must seat no more than six patrons per table
• Restaurants must impose a 90-minute time limit on tables
• Musical performances at restaurants will no longer be permitted
• Food court seating must be closed in malls

Click here to learn more.

On Friday, November 6, the Baker-Polito Administration and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released updated metrics for schools and municipalities.

The administration announced that the color-coded designation for community COVID-19 risk would be updated to account for a community's population size: instead of total cases, metrics will now be based on cases per 100,000 residents and test positivity rate.

Alongside these new designations, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) issued updated guidance to prioritize in-person learning statewide and support municipalities.

Under this guidance, districts and schools in communities designated gray, green or yellow are expected to have students learning fully in-person when possible. Red communities should implement hybrid models while maximizing in-person learning for high-needs students. Fully remote instruction should be implemented only as a last resort.

Click here to read more.

On Monday, November 2, Governor Baker announced new measures to slow the growth of COVID-19, which will go into effect on Friday, November 6.

New statewide orders and advisories include:

• Stay at Home Advisory between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. The Advisory allows for activities like going to work, running critical errands, and taking walks. Click here for the revised advisory.
• Business Closures at 9:30 p.m.:  Certain businesses, including in-person dining at restaurants, liquor stores, events, theaters, sports activities, recreational facilities, close contact personal services, gyms, cultural facilities, and more, must close at 9:30 p.m. Click here for the order and full list of businesses.
• Face Covering Order: Everyone must wear face coverings in all pubic places, even where they can maintain a 6 foot distance from others. Click here to read the order.
• Gatherings Order: Indoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 10 people, and outdoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 25 people.The limit on gatherings held in public spaces remains 25 people indoors, 100 people in Lower Risk Communities, and 50 in other communities. Click here to read the order.

Click here to learn more.

On Monday, October 5, lower-risk communities will be permitted to move into Step II of Phase III of Massachusetts' reopening plan.

Lower-risk communities are defined as cities and towns that have not been a “red” community in any of the last three weekly Department of Public Health weekly reports.

For these lower-risk communities:

• Indoor and outdoor performance venues can open with 50% capacity, maximum of 250 people
• Arcades and indoor recreation businesses, including trampolines, laser tag, and roller rinks, can open with 50% capacity
• Fitting rooms in retail stores can reopen
• Gyms, museums, libraries, and driving and flight schools can increase capacity to 50%.

Governor Baker's revised gatherings order states:

• The limit for indoor gatherings remains at a maximum of 25 people for all communities
• The limit for outdoor gatherings at private residences will remain at a maximum of 50 people for all communities
• Outdoor gatherings at event venues and in public settings will have a limit of 50 people in Step I communities, and a limit of 100 people in lower risk, Step II communities.

Click here to learn more.

On Friday, August 21, the Department of Early Education and Care announced revised minimum requirements for health and safety for child care providers.

The new requirements ease restrictions on classroom group sizes and ratios and allow limited on-site services for children with special needs to occur safely in child care facilities.

Click here to learn more.

On Friday, August 7, Governor Charlie Baker announced a set of initiatives, including stricter statewide rules for public and private gatherings and targeted community guidance.

The announcement:

• Reduces the limits on outdoor gatherings from to 50 people (from 100)
• Updates restaurant rules to state that alcoholic beverages may only be served for on-site consumption if accompanied by orders for food prepared on-site.
• Establishes a cross-agency COVID Enforcement and Intervention Team
• Extends free testing in 17 communities through September 12

Click here to learn more.

On July 24, Governor Baker announced that effective August 1,  all travelers entering the Commonwealth, including both out of state residents and Massachusetts residents returning home, will be required to comply with a new travel order.

Starting August 1, all visitors and Massachusetts residents returning home, including students returning to campuses for the fall semester, must fill out a “Massachusetts Travel Form” and quarantine for 14 days unless they are coming from a COVID-19 lower risk state or they can produce a negative COVID-19 test result administered no more than 72 hours prior to arriving in Massachusetts, or they are included in one of the other, limited exemptions.

The travel order and other information is available at www.mass.gov/MAtraveler.

On Monday, July 6, Massachusetts will enter Phase III of the state's four-phase reopening plan. Movie theaters and outdoor performance venues; museums and cultural and historic sites; and fitness centers and health clubs can now reopen with restrictions.

Indoor gatherings are now limited to eight people per 1,000 feet or 25 people in a single enclosed space and outdoor gatherings are limited to 25 percent of the facility's maximum occupancy, with a maximum of 100 people in a single enclosed outdoor space.

Links:

• Sector-Specific Reopening Guidance
• Reopening Massachusetts State Website

On Thursday, June 25, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released initial guidance for school reopening this fall. To reopen, school officials must develop three models of learning: in-person with new health and safety requirements, hybrid learning, and remote learning plans. The guidance prioritizes in-person learning with health and safety requirements.

Click here for the school reopening guide.

The Commonwealth Workplace COVID-19 Reoccupancy Guide is a working document meant as a template for state agencies, and could be used as a template for other entities to create their own reoccupancy guidelines. The guidance is a working document subject to to continuous updates as new information becomes available.

Click here for the guide.