Note: The following is a press release from Gov. Baker’s office.

Face Coverings Order to be Relaxed for Some Outdoor Settings

BOSTON – Today, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that Massachusetts will reopen some outdoor Phase 4, Step 2 industries effective May 10^th and put plans in place for further reopening on May 29^th and August 1^st. The Administration continues to take steps to reopen the Commonwealth’s economy with public health metrics continuing to trend in a positive direction. This includes drops in average daily COVID cases and hospitalizations. Massachusetts remains first in the nation for first vaccine doses and total doses administered per capita, among states with more than 5 million people. The Administration will also relax the Face Coverings Order for some outdoor settings, effective April 30^th.

Phase IV, Step 2 Industries and Gathering Changes:

On March 22, Massachusetts loosened capacity restrictions and advanced to Step 1 of Phase IV of the reopening plan. Since then, case rates dropped by 20%. The positivity rate has dropped to the lowest levels recorded since last summer.

Effective Monday, May 10^th:

Large venues such as indoor and outdoor stadiums, arenas and ballparks currently open as part of Phase 4, Step 1 at 12% will be permitted to increase capacity to 25%.

The Commonwealth will reopen some outdoor Phase 4, Step 2 industries including amusement parks, theme parks and outdoor water parks that will be permitted to operate at a 50% capacity after submitting safety plans to the Department of Public Health.

Road races and other large, outdoor organized amateur or professional group athletic events will be permitted to take place with staggered starts after submitting safety plans to a local board of health or the DPH.

Youth and adult amateur sports tournaments will be allowed for moderate and high risk sports.

Singing will also be permitted indoors with strict distancing requirements at performance venues, restaurants, event venues and other businesses.

Effective May 29^th:

Subject to public health and vaccination data, gathering limits will increase to 200 people indoors and 250 people outdoors for event venues, public settings and private settings.

Subject to public health and vaccination data, additional Phase 4, Step 2 industries will be permitted to open including:

• Street festivals, parades and agricultural festivals, at 50% of their previous capacity and after submitting safety plans to the local board of health.
• Bars, beer gardens, breweries, wineries and distilleries, will be subject to restaurant rules with seated service only, a 90 minute limit and no dance floors.

Subject to public health and vaccination data, the restaurant guidance will be updated to eliminate the requirement that food be served with alcohol and to increase the maximum table size to 10.

Effective August 1^st:

Subject to public health and vaccination data, remaining industries will be permitted to open including:

• Dance clubs, and nightclubs
• Saunas, hot-tubs, steam rooms at fitness centers, health clubs and other facilities
• Indoor water parks
• Ball pits

All industry restrictions will be lifted at that time, and capacity will increase to 100% for all industries, with businesses encouraged to continue following best practices. The gathering limit will be rescinded.

Depending on vaccine distribution and public health data, the Administration may consider re-evaluating the August 1^st date.

The Department of Public Health will also continue to issue guidance as needed, including guidance to still require masks indoors.

Face Coverings Order:

Effective April 30^th, the Face Coverings Order will be relaxed for some outdoor settings.

Face coverings will only be required outside in public when it is not possible to socially distance, and at other times required by sector-specific guidance.

Face coverings will still be required at all times in indoor public places. Face coverings will also continue to be required at all times at events, whether held indoors or outdoors and whether held in a public space or private home, except for when eating or drinking.

At smaller gatherings in private homes, face coverings are recommended but not required. The $300 fine as an enforcement mechanism will be eliminated.

For more information, visit mass.gov/reopening.

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Note: The following is a press release from Gov. Baker’s office.

BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration announced today that residents 55+ and residents with one certain medical condition will be eligible for vaccine on Monday, April 5.

In addition, the Administration announced that Massachusetts will adopt the CDC’s updated list of medical conditions. This week, the CDC added more medical conditions that are linked to an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 (full list here). Massachusetts will adopt this guidance and make individuals eligible starting April 5th if they have one of these medical conditions. As a result of adopting the CDC’s list, more residents will be eligible starting April 5th.

55+ and Residents with one certain medical condition

On Monday, April 5^th, residents 55+ and residents with one certain medical condition will be eligible to receive vaccine at any of the Commonwealth’s over 300 vaccination locations, including 269 pharmacy locations. With this group, more than 1 million additional residents will be eligible for vaccine in the Commonwealth.

The full timeline is available at mass.gov/COVIDVaccinePhases.

The Administration was informed early this week of a one-time increased shipment of 100,000 J&J vaccines that will arrive in the state early next week. Depending on supply from the federal government, it could take weeks for people to be notified that an appointment is available at a mass vaccination site.

Individuals can learn more about the Commonwealth’s vaccination sites and pre-registration by visiting vaxfinder.mass.gov.

CDC Guidance

In accordance with CDC guidelines, the Commonwealth has adopted recent additions to the list of conditions that cause individuals to be at an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

Individuals with one of the following conditions are eligible on Monday, April 5th:

• Cancer
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic lung diseases, including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma (moderate-to-severe), interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension
• Dementia or other neurological conditions
• Diabetes (type 1 or type 2)
• Down syndrome
• Heart conditions (such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies or hypertension)
• HIV infection
• Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system)
• Liver disease
• Overweight and obesity
• Pregnancy
• Sickle cell disease or thalassemia
• Smoking, current or former
• Solid organ or blood stem cell transplant
• Stroke or cerebrovascular disease, which affects blood flow to the brain
• Substance use disorders

For individuals that have already pre-registered but would like to update their information to reflect the new medical conditions recognized by the CDC and Massachusetts as of April 5: The administration is building a feature for individuals to edit their submission that will be made available soon.

Holiday Celebration Guidance

While vaccine efforts continue across the Commonwealth, it is important that residents celebrate Passover and Easter weekend responsibly.  Residents are encouraged to celebrate with your immediate household, wear masks, and, if you do have a small celebration, consider holding it outside if the weather cooperates. If you cannot celebrate outside, be sure to open windows to allow for fresh air.

Residents should continue to practice social distancing, limit your interactions with your closest and engage in physical distancing.

Individuals are encouraged to get tested if feeling sick or think you’ve been exposed to COVID-19. Testing is free, and widely available, with over 400 testing sites in the Commonwealth.

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Note: The following is a press release from Gov. Baker’s office.

CHELSEA –  The Baker-Polito Administration today announced details for a new mobile vaccination effort made possible by a recently-launched partnership with FEMA that is bringing 6,000 additional daily doses to Massachusetts. The Administration also announced the awarding of a $4.7 million grant to support local public health efforts in the 20 most disproportionately impacted communities in the Commonwealth, and highlighted new outreach efforts in these communities. The Administration made these announcements during a visit to the vaccination clinic at La Colaborativa in Chelsea, one of four hard-hit communities the Administration is supporting with a total of $100 million after previously being slated to receive disproportionately smaller amounts of federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

FEMA Mobile Vaccination

This week, the Commonwealth and FEMA launched a partnership that designates the Hynes Convention Center in Boston as a federal mass vaccination site where FEMA will support the daily administration of 6,000 vaccine daily doses for an eight-week period. This collaboration includes vaccinations beyond the Hynes location, following a “hub and spoke” model which allows doses from the central “hub” to be distributed to nearby communities through mobile vaccination units and pop-up clinics, with a focus on vaccine equity.

Starting next week and ramping up over time, mobile vaccination efforts will be launched in Chelsea, Revere, Boston, Fall River and New Bedford. Like the Hynes site and other federally supported sites across the country, these cities were selected based the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index, along with their proximity to the Hynes.

These mobile and pop up clinics will scale over time, with up to 500 vaccines per day available for each community.

Doses will be picked up by the mobile vaccination teams at the Hynes and then distributed and administered in these communities. Most of these mobile units and pop up clinics will be set up in city parks, parking lots, and other trusted community locations identified by the municipalities as easy to access for community members.

The program will also include grassroots efforts in each community to raise awareness about these mobile clinics and assist in booking appointments. Similar to the broader partnership with FEMA, this mobile program will run for 8 weeks.

Equity Outreach Initiatives

Beginning next week, over 200 bi-lingual, locally hired community organizers will hold 83 outreach events in neighborhoods across each of our 20 equity communities for business walks and door-to-door canvassing and will also start phone-banking efforts to support vaccine appointment registration.

Archipalego Strategies Group (ASG), a minority-women owned business and Health Care for All have been working closely with the Department of Public health and our equity communities to build a robust outreach program that is tailored to the needs of each community.

$4.7 Million Best Value Grant Awards

The Commonwealth this week will distribute $4.7M of federal grant funding to the 20 communities most disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 that will enable them to lead vaccine clinics and promote vaccine trust and confidence.

This funding will support local municipalities and health departments as they:

• collaborate with key stakeholders including local Community and Faith-Based Organizations; Community Health Centers, and Community Health Workers who can support grassroots outreach;
• additional staffing (e.g., public health nursing) and resources to support vaccine clinics in disproportionately impacted communities;
• identify gaps and map available resources to reduce barriers to vaccination; and
• disseminate culturally appropriate translations of communications campaign materials, including Trust the Facts. Get the Vax. campaign materials and vaccine FAQs in multiple languages, and support outreach efforts such as town halls and information sharing in close coordination with Community Liaisons, ASG and HCFA.

The funding includes a minimum of $100,000 dedicated to support staffing and public health infrastructure for local public health. This funding will be for today through June 30, 2022.

City/Town – Amount

• Boston – $963,429
• Brockton – $222,064
• Chelsea – $146,794
• Everett – $160,302
• Fall River – $211,129
• Fitchburg – $152,370
• Framingham – $192,517
• Haverhill – $181,807
• Holyoke – $151,192
• Lawrence – $209,550
• Leominster – $150,432
• Lowell – $245,185
• Lynn – $225,362
• Malden – $184,177
• Methuen – $166,532
• New Bedford – $223,687
• Randolph – $142,514
• Revere – $175,682
• Springfield – $296,713
• Worcester – $338,378

Total – $4,739,816

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