There are positive developments for the reopening of Massachusetts popping up all over the state, as the coronavirus lockdowns are slowly lifted.
The first step of Phase 2 began on Monday, allowing many more businesses to open their doors, including malls, restaurants (for outdoor dining) and hotels.
Diners lined the streets of Boston's North End before the week was out. In Saugus on Friday, the iconic restaurant Kowloon erected their drive-in movie screen to add to the car hop service they already added.
And the town of Chelmsford announced Friday that its beaches at Freeman Lake and Heart Pond were reopening, two weeks after they were closed over incidents where people didn't comply with social distancing guidelines.
But, of course, not everything is open yet, and Gov. Charlie Baker has consistently urged residents to continue the vigilance that's gotten the state this far. Here's where we stand on reopening Massachusetts.
What Businesses Are Open in Massachusetts Now?
Note that reopened businesses are still required to follow workspace safety guidelines that incorporate social distancing, hygiene and staffing requirements, as well as guidelines specific to individual sectors.
- Essential businesses
- Banks and financial services
- Churches and other houses of worship
- Restaurants (outdoor seating)
- Retail stores
- Short-term lodgings like hotels, motels and inns
- Construction, home remodeling and installations
- Manufacturing
- Warehouses and distribution centers
- In-house services like babysitting and nannying
- Real estate open houses, with restrictions
- Hair salons and barbershops
- Day camps
- Youth sports
- Funeral homes
- Office spaces
- Car dealerships
- Car washes
- Drive-in movie theaters
- Libraries
- Pet grooming
- Beaches, golf clubs and facilities, parks, fishing, hunting, boating, outdoor adventure activities
- Outdoor recreational facilities like pools, playgrounds, mini golf and batting cages
- Outdoor amateur sports
- Professional sports practice and training
- Outdoor historical spaces, gardens, zoos and public spaces
- Gun stores and shooting ranges
- Lab spaces
- Casino hotels and restaurants (but not gaming floors, theaters or arenas)
- Driving schools
- Occupational schools -- if students are finishing "a degree, program, or prerequisite for employment, or other similar requirement for completion"
- Non-close contact personal services, like window washing, photography and career coaching
- Non-athletic instructional classes for arts, education or life skills, for anyone under 18 and in groups of less than 10
- Flight schools
- Beer gardens, breweries, distilleries and wineries -- if serving outdoor food under dining permits
What Businesses Are Still Closed in Massachusetts?
Any business in Step 2 of Phase 2 or in Phase 3 and 4 of the reopening plan is still required to stay closed. That includes:
- Restaurants for indoor dining (Phase 2, Step 2)
- Bars, nightclubs, dance clubs, beer gardens, breweries, distilleries and wineries (Phase 4)
- Outdoor weddings, events and large gatherings with moderate capacity (Phase 3)
- Outdoor camps (Phase 3)
- Close-contact personal services like nail salons, massages and tattoo parlors (Phase 2, Step 2)
- Movie theaters (Phase 3 for moderate-capacity theaters, Phase 4 for large-capacity theaters)
- Gyms, fitness clubs and health clubs (Phase 3, with their sauas, steam rooms and hot tubs in Phase 4)
- Personal trainers (Phase 2, Step 2)
- Indoor amateur sports and athletic facilities besides for youth programs (Phase 3)
- Museums and aquariums (Phase 3)
- Indoor historic spaces (Phase 3)
- Moderate-capacity theaters and performance halls (Phase 3)
- Large-capacity venues, like theaters, ballrooms, stadiums and convention halls (Phase 4)
- Amusement parks, theme parks and water parks (Phase 4)
- Non-athletic instructional classes for arts, education or life skills, for anyone 18 or older and in groups of any size (Phase 3)
- Movie and TV productions (Phase 3)
