Items

• 
  2020-07-24

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 45 - Mandatory Quarantine Order for Outside Travelers

  Governor Charles Baker issued this executive order making 14-day quarantines for out-of-state travelers mandatory on July 24, 2020, in a departure from the advisory "order" declared in March asking travelers to either quarantine or avoid the commonwealth all together. This order exempts seven Northeastern states whose COVID levels had been deemed "low-risk," but required all out-of-state travelers from the remaining 43 states, and returning residents, to self-isolate or obtain a negative test result 72 hours prior to arrival. Failure to meet these guidelines carried with it a penalty of a $500/day fine; a feature that was absent from the earlier travel advisory guidelines. With Massachusetts having seen improvement from the springtime surge that left tens of thousands of residents infected and over 8,000 dead, the Commonwealth sought to stay ahead of the virus curve and squelch an expected resurgence, as tens of thousands of returning students from across the country prepared to descend upon greater Boston colleges and universities in the fall.
• 
  2020-06-19

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 40: Advancing Phase II Reopening

  This executive order from mid-June of 2020 allows for restaurants and "close contact personal services" to reopen their "brick-and-mortar premises" and resume indoor table service.
• 
  May 18, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 34

  As Massachusetts began its slow reopening process, the Governor allowed for beaches to reopen to a certain spectrum of "passive recreational activities." However, state authorities retained the power to limit the size of crowds and ensure social distancing.
• 
  May 15, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 32

  Governor Charlie Baker's extension of the state lock down to May 19, 2020. As Massachusetts prepared to follow other states by gradually reopening its economy, the governor issued this order as part of "a measured relaxation of currently existing restrictions."
• 
  May 1, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 31

  This order required that all residents of the state above the age of 2 years must wear a face mask/covering, either inside or outside, when social distancing is not possible. As scientists raced to understand COVID-19's transmission, the medical community's stance on face masks gradually shifted. In the early days of the pandemic, physicians and public health officials advised against the use of masks, citing their relative ineffectiveness, only to do an about-face a couple of months later by stressing their importance in cutting down on the airborne contagions that allow the virus to jump from person-to-person.
• 
  April 28, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 30

  Effective on April 28, 2020, this measure extended the state's lock down by maintaining the closure of certain non-essential workplaces, as well as the prohibition on gathering of 10 people or more.
• 
  April 16, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order - 4/16/2020

  This executive order authorized the creation of emergency residential and emergency placement programs for children during the course of the COVID-19 emergency.