COVID-19 pandemic in Massachusetts
[15] 175 executives of Biogen, a biotechnology company based in Cambridge, held a two-day leadership conference from February 26–28 at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf hotel.
[29] Governor Baker also announced on April 20 that Massachusetts schools would not return to in-person learning for the remainder of the academic year, and extended through June 29 a previous order to close non-emergency childcare services.
Hospitals and health centers were also permitted to begin providing urgent preventive care and treatment services to high-risk patients.
This allowed childcare, day camps, lodging retail stores, outdoor seating at restaurants, and children's sports programs to reopen with strict precautions.
Governor Baker blamed "disturbing reports of large gatherings" on the uptick in cases, a trend he described as attributable to people not following guidelines rather than a result of moving forward in the state's reopening plan.
[41] Governor Baker announced on August 7 that Massachusetts would postpone entering the second portion of Phase 3 of the state's reopening plan, intensify enforcement of COVID-19 regulation violations, and reduce the limit on the number of people allowed at public and private outdoors events from 100 to 50.
The changes were announced after several incidents in which large parties were found to be violating the state guidelines on the numbers of people allowed to gather, as well as on masks and physical distancing.
[42] Massachusetts school districts were required to submit their final plans for teaching in the fall, along with detailed safety protocols, by August 14.
[48] The Massachusetts Coalition for Health Equity criticized Baker's choice to continue reopening the state, citing concerns over increasing cases and positive test rates.
[51] Thirteen communities in Massachusetts returned to step 1 of phase 3 of the state's reopening plan after spending three weeks in the "high risk" designation.
[52] On November 2, Governor Baker announced a statewide curfew for businesses, a tighter limit on the number of people allowed to gather indoors, and stricter face mask requirements.
The new order required face coverings in all public places and was enforced by fines, leading mask compliance in Massachusetts to go from spotty at best to near-universal after the new mandate.
Baker also implemented a stay-at-home advisory, to begin on November 6, to encourage people to stay home between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.[53] On December 3, Massachusetts' average positive COVID-19 test rate exceeded 4.9% for the first time since June.
[7] On December 8, Governor Baker announced that all cities and towns in Massachusetts would be required to roll back to Phase 3, Step 1 of the state's reopening plan.
[58] The following day, Baker warned that it was likely that the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 first discovered in the United Kingdom had made its way to Massachusetts, and urged state residents to "be very vigilant and careful and cautious about [their] physical engagement with other people".
The patient was a woman in her twenties from Norfolk County, who had recently traveled to Italy with a school group from Saint Raphael Academy in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
[84] As of January 13, 2022[update], Massachusetts was experiencing a rolling average of 43 confirmed deaths per day, and 20,872 people had died of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
[91] In August 2020, a travel order was imposed, requiring all visitors and returning Massachusetts residents to quarantine for 14 days, unless they were coming from a low-risk state, had tested negative for the virus, or were included in a few other exemptions.
Masks are still required for all people regardless of vaccination status in some venues, such as on public and private transportation systems and in healthcare facilities and congregate care settings.
Beginning December 21, 2021, following the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants in Massachusetts, the DPH began advising fully-vaccinated individuals to also wear masks indoors, when not in their own homes.
[96] In October 2020, the Worcester field hospital began preparing to reopen by the first week of December to handle overflow cases from the second wave of COVID-19 affecting the state.
[2] On August 19, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Health announced mandatory influenza vaccinations for all students by December 31, 2020, to reduce the number of people hospitalized with respiratory infections.
One successful federal suit resulted in the state's reopening guidelines being amended to allow gun stores to re-open along with businesses that had been designated as essential.
[113] Another federal lawsuit demanding houses of worship be opened under the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution was rendered moot when Baker included them in the list of venues allowed to reopen during the state's first phase.
[120] Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse accused the nursing facility of mismanagement and lack of transparency in the events surrounding the outbreak and its resulting fatalities.
[122] On April 10, the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston announced that it would be opening a federal investigation into whether Soldiers' Home violated the rights of its patients by failing to provide them adequate medical care and protection during the COVID-19 outbreak.
[123] On September 25, Massachusetts' attorney general announced that two leaders of the facility had been indicted on charges of criminal neglect in relation to the outbreak.
By the end of May, grocery stores started expanding hours, with toilet paper back on shelves significant quantities but home baking supplies like yeast and flour with thin stocks.
[44] State universities in Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Salem, Westfield, and Worcester announced in June that they would be bringing students on-campus to attend classes.
[152] The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issued a requirement for all public schools to resume in person learning for the Fall 2021 semester in May 2021.
