MA Targets Date To Lift All Business Restrictions

BOSTON — All coronavirus business restrictions in Massachusetts could be lifted Aug. 1 — if not sooner — as part of a plan Gov. Charlie Baker laid out Tuesday to end the regulations that have been in place for more than a year amid the pandemic.

The state will ease its mask mandate Friday and begin lifting more coronavirus restrictions in the coming weeks, with an eye toward eliminating all limits on business by Aug. 1 at the latest. Baker said that date could be moved up if the state continues on its path of increased vaccinations and lower coronavirus deaths, hospitalizations and case counts.

"We hope that with more vaccines, and a continued success in stopping COVID, we can take this step earlier," Baker said. "But it will depend on everyone continuing to get vaccinated and doing the right things."

He said 3.6 million of the 7 million state residents are already on pace to have their second vaccination dose within the next few weeks.

"We need to continue to see the kind of momentum that we have seen on vaccinations going forward over the next six weeks — deep into the month of May (to move up the Aug. 1 date) — which I fully expect is possible," he said.

Baker made his announcement at the same time President Joe Biden made one of his own that included relaxing federal mask-wearing guidelines.

Beginning Friday, face coverings will no longer be required in most outdoor settings where social distancing is possible. The rarely enforced $300 fine for not wearing masks at indoor gatherings will also be eliminated.

The next round of reopening comes May 10, which will see large stadiums and ballparks that are already open at 12 percent capacity expand to 25 percent capacity. Amusement and theme parks will open to 50 percent.

Road races and other organized athletic events will also be allowed after local boards of health sign off on a safety plan.

Indoor singing will be allowed with precautions.

On May 29, indoor gathering limits will be increased to 200 and outdoor gathering limits to 250.

Bars and breweries can reopen without food service, though some restrictions will remain. There will be 90-minute limits, no dance floors and no standing around. People might also be able to get alcohol without food and table sizes might increase to 10, depending on conditions.

Street festivals, parades and agricultural festivals can open to 50 percent of capacity, after submitting plans to local health officials.

And on Aug. 1, all businesses can fully reopen without restrictions or capacity limits. Gathering limits will be dropped.

Baker praised residents for the state's progress in recent months — including a hospitalization total that has fallen from about 2,400 in early January to less than 700 as of this week, and a positive test rate that fell from a high of 8.6 percent in January to 1.72 percent as of Monday.

The 812 confirmed cases reported Monday by the Department of Public Health were the lowest since Nov. 2.

"This has easily been the longest year of my life and I think for a lot of people it has been the longest, and most difficult, and in some cases the most brutal," Baker said. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that my dad survived this whole thing. Because that sure wasn't true for a lot of other people."

As Baker continued to urge residents to get vaccinated, he said the state will not be issuing any type of vaccination requirement for state workers, and that private businesses can do as they see fit.

"I don't think we should do this with a one-size-fits-all," he said. "I think we should let employers, let businesses, let organizations, based on the people they serve, the folks who work for them and the nature of whatever the particular concerns they might have about the spread and about COVID, drive the way they make decisions about how they handle that stuff."

Baker said it is not feasible for the state to have its own vaccination requirements with the federal government showing no intention to have one nationwide, but that he does hope any federal vaccination regulations for international travel will be spelled out soon.