Retail, outdoor dining begin Monday as Massachusetts enters Phase II of reopening
The Baker-Polito Administration on Saturday announced that Phase II of the Commonwealth’s reopening plan will begin Monday, with retail stores, outdoor table service at restaurants, and some personal service businesses set to reopen.
The move comes as the state continues to flatten the curve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks and social distancing are still required.
A total of 104,132 confirmed cases have been reported in the state of Massachusetts, but the rate of new patients is falling. To date, 7,289 Massachusetts have died of COVID-19 complications.
In Grafton, 94 confirmed cases have been reported, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. That number reflects only the number of positive tests since the start of the pandemic; many have already recovered. Just one death has been reported in town.
Nationwide, 1,891,690 cases have been confirmed, with 109,192 deaths. Unlike in Massachusetts, states that quickly reopened businesses are now seeing an uptick in COVID-19.
On May 18, Massachusetts released a four-phased plan to reopen the economy based on public health data, spending at least three weeks in each phase. Key public health data, such as new cases and hospitalizations, has been closely monitored and seen a significant decline .
The public health dashboard designating the progress of key COVID-19 data metrics has been updated to reflect the number of COVID-19 patients in Massachusetts hospitals to green, indicating a positive trend.
Since mid-April, the 7-day average for the positive COVID-19 test rate is down 82 percent, the 3-day average of hospitalized patients is down 55 percent, and the number of hospitals in surge is down 76 percent.
A total of 630,000 viral COVID-19 tests have been completed, and testing continues to increase throughout the state.
The following businesses will be eligible to reopen in Step One of Phase II, with contingencies:
- Retail, with occupancy limits;
- Childcare facilities and day camps, with detailed guidance;
- Restaurants, outdoor table service only;
- Hotels and other lodgings, no events, functions or meetings;
- Warehouses and distribution centers;
- Personal services without close physical contact, such as home cleaning, photography, window washing, career coaching and education tutoring;
- Post-secondary, higher education, vocational-tech and occupation schools for the purpose of completing graduation requirements;
- Youth and adult amateur sports, with detailed guidance;
- Outdoor recreation facilities
- Professional sports practices, no games or public admissions;
- Non-athletic youth instructional classes in arts, education or life skills and in groups of less than 10;
- Driving and flight schools
- Outdoor historical spaces, no functions, gatherings or guided tours;
- Funeral homes, with occupancy limits
The following businesses will be eligible reopen in Step Two of Phase II at a later date to be determined:
- Indoor table service 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
Health care providers may also incrementally resume in-person elective, non-urgent procedures and services, including routine office visits, dental visits and vision care subject to compliance with public health and safety standards. All other in-person medical, behavioral health, dental and vision services may also resume on June 8th, except for elective cosmetic procedures and in-person day programs, which will be included in Phase III. Telehealth must continue to be utilized and prioritized to the greatest extent possible, whenever feasible and appropriate.
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