More Businesses Allowed to Reopen as Massachusetts Moves Into Phase 3 on July 6

Beginning July 6, Massachusetts will enter Phase 3 of the Four-Phase Reopening Plan. However, businesses located within Boston will have a delayed Phase 3 start date until July 13. Just as with Phase 2, Phase 3 will consist of two steps. According to the Governor’s office, Phase 3 will last much longer than previous phases, and moving into Phase 4 will be dependent on the development of successful therapeutics or a vaccine.

In addition to the general Mandatory Workplace Safety Standards addressed in our previous alert, Gov. Baker’s administration has provided the following sector-specific rules for businesses that are permitted to open in Step 1 of Phase 3:

• Safety Standards and Checklist for Fitness Centers and Health Clubs permits any fitness facility that provides access to and/or instruction of personal fitness training to open.

• Safety Standards and Checklist for Indoor and Outdoor Events permits indoor and outdoor events to be held, but large capacity event venues and activities that draw large crowds must remain closed until Phase 4.

• Safety Standards and Checklist for Indoor Recreation permits only Indoor Recreation Businesses involving low potential for contact to open.

• Safety Standards and Checklist for Museums and Cultural and Historical Facilities and Guided Tours permits museums, aquariums, indoor and outdoor historic spaces and sites, and guided tours to open.

• Safety Standards and Checklist for Theaters and Performance Venuespermits only outdoor theater and performance venues and indoor movie theaters to reopen in Step 1 of Phase 3. Other indoor theater and performance venues must remain closed until authorized to open under a subsequent order. Large capacity event venues, such as stadiums, arenas, ballparks, and exhibition and convention halls, must remain closed until Phase 4.

Gov. Baker also updated the limitations on gatherings, effective July 6 in Massachusetts, and July 13 in Boston. Under the revised order, indoor gatherings are limited to eight people per 1,000 square feet but should not exceed 25 people in a single enclosed indoor space. Outdoor gatherings in enclosed spaces are limited to 25% of the facility’s maximum permitted occupancy, with a maximum of 100 people in a single enclosed outdoor space. This includes community events, civic events, sporting events, concerts, conventions, and more. This order does not apply to outdoor, unenclosed gatherings if proper social distancing measures are possible.