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STATE TRANSITIONS TO PHASE 2 REOPENING:
Governor Charlie Baker gave the go-ahead to begin tentatively reopening to customers June 8th, as the state enters Phase 2 of its reopening plan: Retail stores, restaurants, hotels, and many other businesses will be permitted to serve customers because the state has continued to move in the right direction in driving down new infections and hospitalizations.
Phase 2, Step 1: Cautious
- – Gatherings of 10 or more people will be prohibited in any “confined indoor or outdoor space,” but gatherings of 10 or more people will be allowed as long as everyone is in an “unenclosed, outdoor space such as a park, backyard, athletic field, or parking lot,” and as long as everyone can remain 6 feet apart and the type of gathering taking place has not specifically been prohibited (for example, street festivals and road races still are not allowed under Phase 2). Read the full executive order on gatherings here.
- – Retail stores, including those inside shopping malls, can reopen for browsing – with restrictions. Stores can only allow eight people (including staff) per 1,000 square feet of indoor space, or 40 percent of the store’s maximum permitted occupancy. Everyone should remain six feet apart and wear face coverings. For those shopping for makeup and clothes, be warned: There can be no “sampling or application of personal goods (i.e., make-up, perfume, lotion),” and fitting rooms for trying on clothes will be closed.
- – Restaurants: Restaurants will be able to open for outdoor dining; indoor dining would follow in Step 2 of Phase 2, though exactly when that will be has yet to be determined. Tables must remain six feet apart or be separated by walls or by six-foot-high plexiglass dividers, according to the new guidelines. Parties will be capped at six people, and diners will not be allowed to sit at the bar. Menus must be disposed of after each use or otherwise be put on display or be accessible on customers’ phones. Tables and chairs must also be sanitized after each party, and utensils should be rolled or packaged. Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito said last week that while employees will have to wear face coverings and patrons will have to do the same when moving about restaurants, customers “don’t need to wear their face covering” while seated and they can “enjoy the experience of dining out.” Restaurants also should get diners’ contact information, whether they make a reservation or walk-in for a table, according to the guidelines. In the event of a presumptive or positive case of COVID-19 in a worker, patron, or vendor, the restaurant must immediately shut down for 24 hours and be cleaned and disinfected before reopening. – Beer gardens, breweries, wineries, and distilleries have gotten the go-ahead to open under Phase 2 if they are “providing seated food service under retail food permits issued by municipal authorities.” However, those that do not provide seated food service wouldn’t be able to reopen until Phase 4, which could start July 20 at the earliest.
- – Lodging: While hotels, motels, inns, and other short-term lodgings are currently open to essential workers and vulnerable populations, they will be allowed to reopen to other guests during Phase 2, with a bundle of restrictions. All function rooms – including ballrooms, meeting rooms, and any indoor or outdoor event facilities – must remain closed, and weddings and business gatherings are not allowed. The businesses must also tell guests the state’s policy urging travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days when arriving from out of state. There doesn’t appear to be any kind of penalty or policing of the two-week quarantine. Additionally, the two-week quarantine order applies to Massachusetts residents as well as visitors. Within the rooms where guests stay, hotels must take out pens, paper, and any magazines, directories, and brochures. They are also required to sanitize all hard surfaces “at a minimum each time a guest checks out and before the next guest is admitted,” as well as launder all linens, bedspreads, and covers. Operators should also “consider leaving guest rooms vacant for 24 hours as part of cleaning protocol to allow for deep cleaning, disinfectant and cleaners to dry, and reasonable air exchange.”
- Day camps and child care facilities will be allowed to reopen in Phase 2 once they have met several requirements for keeping children and staff safe, Baker said Monday. The new safety guidelines call for children and staff to have their temperature checked every day before they enter. Parents will also have to answer a series of questions about the health of the child and all others in their household, including specifics on individual symptoms, before the child can enter a day care space. Children will be restricted to groups of 10 and must remain with the same staff and the same children throughout the day. Staff and children over 2 are also encouraged to wear masks whenever 6 feet of physical distancing is not possible. The health requirements cover all programs serving children and youth, including recreational summer programs, camps, home-based child care, and center-based child care. Overnight camps will not be able to reopen until later this summer.
- – Limited organized youth and adult amateur sports programs and activities can resume under Phase 2. Adults can only play outdoors; supervised youth programs and activities can be held indoors. (Under Phase 3, all ages can play both indoors and outdoors.)
- – Casinos: The actual gaming floors won’t be able to open until Phase 3, but the hotels and restaurants attached to them can reopen under Phase 2 – although they must follow safety guidelines for each sector.
- – Libraries: The sector specific safety standards for libraries clearly state that during Phase II, Part 1:
“Libraries must establish procedures for patrons to check out materials prior to arriving at the library for curbside or circulation desk pickup. Patron entry to the library should be limited to circulation desk pickup only.” “Perusing the stacks” is not permitted.
- – At the start of Phase 2, health care providers can incrementally resume in-person elective, non-urgent procedures and services, including routine office visits, dental visits, and vision care, as long as they comply with public health and safety standards. All other in-person medical, behavioral health, dental, and vision services may also resume on Monday, except for elective cosmetic procedures and in-person day programs, which will be included in Phase 3. State officials recommend to continue using telehealth services “to the greatest extent possible, whenever feasible and appropriate.” Limited reopening of visitation will also begin, but will be subject to infection control protocol and social distancing requirements, including wearing face coverings. “Given the diversity of facilities and programs, there are specific timetables for visitation, and congregate care programs will be reaching out to families with specific details on scheduling visits,” a statement from Baker’s office said Saturday.
- – Car dealers: Customers can begin browsing showroom with restrictions.
- – Home installations and renovations: Non-construction related activities can resume under Phase 2, such as the installation of carpets, home theaters, and security systems.
- – Driving schools: Although driver’s education organizations are currently allowed to offer instruction online, Phase 2 means behind-the-wheel training or the observation of another student driver can resume.
- – Photography, window washers, career coaching, and other personal services that don’t require close personal contact can reopen in Phase 2.
- – Flight schools can reopen under Phase 2.
- – Non-athletic instructional classes in arts, education, and life skills can reopen to youths under 18 years of age, in groups of fewer than 10, under Phase 2; they can reopen to all ages in Phase 3.
- – Funeral homes can reopen under Phase 2, as long as they are under a 40 percent capacity limit. Only one service will be allowed at a time in the facility.
- – Warehouses and distribution centers can reopen under Phase 2.
- – Golf facilities, including outdoor driving ranges, can reopen under Phase 2.
- – Professional sports practice and training programs can resume under Phase 2.
- – Outdoor recreational facilities such as pools, playgrounds, spray decks, mini golf, go karts, batting cages, and climbing walls can reopen under Phase 2.
- – Outdoor historical spaces and sites can reopen.
- – Occupation schools can reopen for the limited purposes of permitting students to complete a degree, program, or prerequisite for employment, or other similar requirement for completion.
- – Professional sports practices, although no games or public admissions will be allowed.
- Phase 2: Step 2
- – Indoor dining at restaurants.
- – Close-contact personal services, with restrictions, including:
Hair removal and replacement
Nail care
Skin care
Massage therapy
Makeup salons and makeup application services
Tanning salons
Tattoo, piercing, and body art services
Personal training, with restrictions: Appointment-only training with only one customer – or two from the same household – will be allowed in a facility at a time
Boston Globe,Updated June 6, 2020, 1:59 p.m.
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