Somerville Releases Phase 1 Reopening Schedule

SOMERVILLE, MA – The city has set Monday, June 1 as the start date for on-premise businesses such as manufacturing, offices and certain personal services after reviewing Gov. Charlie Baker's phased reopening plan.

After June 1, the city and state reopening will largely be aligned with the major differences being that Somerville will remain on its previously established schedule to resume construction in phases, houses of worship will continue to be limited to no more than 10 people in a gathering and hair salons and barbershops will reopen in early June after further consultation with local owners regarding safe practices.

Reopening businesses will have more time to make critical changes to their operations, obtain protective equipment for employees and modify workplace routines, officials said. State and city health officials will also have more time to enhance best practices for social distancing, sanitization and protection of employees and customers.

Somerville will further expand coronavirus testing and tracing with a mobile testing unit, which is slated to launch Friday. The Cambridge Health Alliance also received 20,000 new cotton swabs from the state to conduct tests in Somerville and nearby communities.

"Without expanded testing, we may not realize we have new hotspots that need to be addressed until residents end up in the hospital, or we see an increase in deaths. Earlier intervention is key to the containment of the virus," Doug Kress, director of the city's Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. "Having this extra testing capacity in Somerville and neighboring towns -- as well as our new mobile testing unit that can get to our most vulnerable residents or to hotspots quickly -- is critical to a safer easing of restrictions."

The official calendar for reopenings in Somerville is as follows. Note that State safety requirements and any Somerville safety requirements (such as construction site safety plan approval) must be met for businesses seeking to reopen. Businesses found to be out of compliance will be ordered to comply or suspend operations:

• May 18:
  • Construction phase one, primarily large municipal and utility projects (only with approved safety plans)
  • Hospital and medical care facilities for high-priority preventative care visits
  • Houses of worship with a ten-person limit and social distancing
• May 25:
  • Curbside retail and remote order fulfillment
  • Additional healthcare providers as defined by the State plan
  • DCR parks, with appropriate social distancing practices and passive uses
• June 1:
  • Manufacturing
  • Laboratory and life science facilities
  • Offices - work from home strongly encouraged wherever possible; businesses should restrict workforce to less than 25% maximum occupancy and strive for less
  • Pet grooming by appointment only
  • Car washes - only exterior car washing allowed
  • Recreation and outdoor areas, notably athletic fields and courts, boating, and outdoor gardens (as per the State plan and City orders, playgrounds will remain closed until further notice)
  • Construction phase two, primarily residential and commercial construction (only with approved safety plans)
• Early June (announcement of date to follow):
  • Hair salons and barbershops by appointment only

Residents are reminded that the city's health emergency remains in effect and facial coverings and social distancing are still required in all public spaces.

Somerville will meet and speak with faith leaders, business owners and workers to shape local plans going forward and also gather their concerns, questions, and needs so that it can continue to advocate on issues such as worker protections, PPE access, clarity in the reopening guidance and technical support.

All Safer at Home and safety advisories for people in the state reopening plan also apply to Somerville immediately. The city also strongly urges all offices to choose work-at-home for all employees able to do so in order to reduce public transit crowding and exposure risks for workers who cannot work unless on site.

"We really shouldn’t be thinking of this as a return to normal. As the Governor said, we are moving from Stay at Home to Safer at Home, and that needs to be our focus," Mayor Joseph Curtatone said in a statement. "The virus is still here. The perils we faced before we united to flatten the curve still exist. Everyone must still do their part to keep the curve flat."

For more information and regular COVID-19 updates, visit www.somervillema.gov/COVID19 and sign up for City alerts at www.somervillema.gov/Alerts. We urge you to sign up for every alert method you are able to receive: phone call, text, email. Also follow FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.