Items

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  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.
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  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.
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  2020-07-02

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 44 - Revised Public Gathering Mandate

  On July 2, 2020, Governor Charles Baker revised COVID-19 Order No. 38 to exclude businesses designated as "a Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III enterprise" that is allowed to open its environs to workers and the public from gathering restrictions, provided that said businesses are following the state's COVID-19 safety rules.
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  2020-07-10

  MA Commissioner of Public Health: Grocery Store Rescission Order

  On July 10, 2020, the Massachusetts public health commissioner rescinded the order requiring COVID-19 mitigation and exposure reduction strategies in grocery stores.
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  2020-06-06

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 38

  As Massachusetts began its slow, phased reopening following the end of its lockdown, Governor Charles Baker issued this order extending the prohibition of gatherings of 10 or more people "in any confined indoor or outdoor space." This mandate reflects the abundance of caution taken by the state, as opposed to states that hurried their reopening in an effort to re-start their economy.
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  2020-07-08

  A Toothless Mandate: Sedgwick County's Mask Order, July 8 and 9, 2020

  After the city of Wichita decreed compulsory mask-wearing, the Sedgwick County Local Health officer issued an emergency order overriding the County Commission's decision to not make masks in public mandatory. The first order states that no penalties will enforce the mandate's provisions, while the second, issued the very next day, adds religious institutions to the list of exempted parties; a hot button issue that saw Governor Laura Kelly's administration besieged by lawsuits and accusations of abuse of power during the statewide lockdown. Therefore, these texts are products of the political tensions that hobbled Kansas's response efforts in the face of a surging COVID-19 crisis, with state and local leaders, most if not all of whom identified as Republicans, opting for non-existent counter-measures that prevented "executive overreach," but allowed the virus to flourish.
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  2020-07-07

  Citizens Protest at Wichita Mayor's Residence

  This news article from KSN, a Kansas news network, highlights the aggravation of political tensions that have only gotten worse with COVID-19's disruption of US society. In a move reminiscent of protestor tactics in St. Louis, Missouri, a group of Wichitans, disgusted with the mayor's successful push to implement city-wide mask use, staged a protest outside his residence, with its organizer even advocating, should participants choose, to exercise "Second Amendment rights" as a sign of protest. Although not a large demonstration, this article nevertheless adds to the emerging portrait of a country and its communities cleaved by politics and a pandemic.
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  2020-07-07

  Wichita City Council Ordinance No. 51-307: Facemasks Required In Wichita, Kansas

  This Wichita ordinance, passed on July 3, 2020, overrode the Sedgwick County Commission's vote declining to implement Kansas Governor Laura Kelly's executive order making masks mandatory statewide; a vote that was held the previous day. Due to an accelerating positive test rate in both Sedgwick County and Wichita, the Wichita mayor convened a special session of the City Council to mandate in the city what has become one of the most effective preventative weapons against COVID-19. This order specifies the necessity for masks in public, when citizens must wear them, and penalties for non-compliance. Moreover, this order stands as an artifact of the divisive politicization that has come to dominate much of the United States's coronavirus response, especially in states like Kansas, where a Democrat executive, like Governor Kelly or Mayor Whipple, has repeatedly clashed with a Republican-dominated legislature or county commission.
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  2020-07-02

  The Order That Wasn't: Kansas Executive Order 20-52

  As COVID-19 case numbers accelerated in Kansas in the summer of 2020, Governor Laura Kelly issued this executive order declaring that Kansans must wear masks in public spaces, especially in places where the 6-foot distance rule was not possible, beginning on Friday, July 3, 2020. However, this order proved empty, since it allowed for local county authorities to enforce it, with several counties, including Sedgwick, which is home to the state's largest city, Wichita, to either opt out of the order entirely, or declare it a "strong recommendation." This document reflects the partisan politics that stymied Kansas's COVID-19 response efforts, as Democratic Governor Kelly eventually relinquished her statewide executive authority to direct the anti-virus effort in favor of a decentralized, locally-driven patchwork response favored by the state GOP, which had earlier passed legislation to curb her executive powers and threatened lawsuits against what they perceived to be a gross over-reach of executive power.
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  2020-04-06

  Governor's Executive Orders: The US Virgin Islands, April and May 2020

  These executive orders from the US Virgin Islands reflect the various changes wrought by COVID-19, not to mention the virus's stubborn presence, thus requiring extensions of earlier orders. Found in this set of directives dating from April and May 2020 are mandates for beach closures, extension of the V.I. safer-at-home order, and information pertaining to the virtual presentation of the annual St. Thomas Carnival.
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  2020-03-20

  Governor's Executive Orders: The US Virgin Islands

  This set of executive directives, ordered by Governor Albert Bryan, Jr., includes suspensions of certain provisions under the Virgin Islands code, business closures and movement restrictions, as well as stay-at-home order extensions. Dated from March 20 to March 30, 2020, these documents reflect how the US Virgin Islands reacted and adapted to COVID-19's transmission by adopting mitigation efforts unique to an island environment.
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  2020-03-16

  Governor's Executive Orders: The Island of Guam

  Ranging in date from March 16 to April 10, 2020, these executive orders proclaimed by the Governor of Guam detail that island's reaction to COVID-19's appearance there. These documents cover topics such as road accessibility for essential businesses and public health emergency operations, social distancing/isolation and clarifications of what is an essential and non-essential business, as well as telehealth expansion, and eviction/price gouging prohibitions during the public health emergency.
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  2020-03-17

  Governor's Executive Orders: The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands

  With COVID-19 spreading to every corner of the globe, a patchwork of responses emerged, especially in the United States, where the counties, states, and even the overseas territories crafted their own pandemic counter-measures. These two amended executive orders issued by the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (Tinian, Rota, and Saipan), outline the actions taken by this US commonwealth in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak, including various directives designed to "ameliorate and mitigate" the fallout brought on by the disease's spread.
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  2020-04-20

  DOD Memo on COVID-19 Travel Restrictions in the US Armed Forces

  This document, generated by the Department of Defense and signed by Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, cancels certain references from previous memos and extends DOD travel restrictions guidance through June 30, 2020. Also included are certain exemptions to the aforementioned restrictions. Nevertheless, these modifications to the Secretary of Defense's original "stop-movement order" were intended to halt the virus's growing spread by freezing most US military and DOD personnel's travel to US military facilities around the world.
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  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."
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  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.
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  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.
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  April 28, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 29

  A revision of a previous COVID order allowing the Governor's Council to engage in remote participation.
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  April 9, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 25

  In an effort to expand citizens' access to medical services, Governor Baker signed this order so as to require all major health insurers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to cover any and all medical services related to COVID-19.
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  March 26, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 17

  This order suspends deadlines related to state permits and extends existing permits' validity. Northeastern JOTPY
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  March 20, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Reducing In-Person Transactions at the DMV

  Signed on March 20,2020, this executive order sought to reinforce the state's social distancing measures by reducing the level of contact between people at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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  March 20, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Permitting the Deferral of Certain Real Estate Inspections

  This executive order signed by Governor Baker on March 20, 2020, permitted the deferral of real estate inspections during home sales or transfers, thereby placing the responsibility of equipping the dwelling with proper alarms/detection systems on the buyer and not the seller.
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  03/23/2020

  Massachusetts Executive COVID-19 Order No. 13

  This order limited gatherings of 10 or more and closed non-essential services, while mandating the continued operations of all essential operations. Signed by Governor Baker on March 23, 2020, the order sought to "minimize all unnecessary activities outside of the home during the state of emergency."
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  March 18, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Closing Child Care Programs and Authorizing the Creation of Emergency Measures

  Signed by Governor Baker on March 18, 2020, this executive order sought to mitigate the virus's spread by closing all child care facilities in the state; a necessary step according to health officials, since COVID-19 easily spread from asymptomatic children to adults.
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  March 17, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Expanding Access to Physician Services

  Because of the stealthy nature of COVID-19's transmission, and the lethal threat it posed to high-population centers like Boston, state and local health officials braced for a public health emergency that could potentially overwhelm the health care system. Signed by Governor Baker on March 17th, 2020, this executive order expanded the number of physicians permitted to practice in Massachusetts by allowing retired physicians to return upon request, extending physicians' soon-to-expire licenses, and granting emergency licenses to out-of-state physicians with good standing.