BOSTON (WWLP) – Starting right after midnight Friday, Massachusetts businesses will have to abide by new COVID-19 restrictions and a new stay at home order will take effect.
The two biggest changes in Governor Charlie Baker’s most recent order have to do with a new mask mandate and an earlier curfew. Governor Baker is now asking all Massachusetts residents to wear a mask when in public regardless of the distance they are able to maintain.
Gov. Baker is also restricting indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 25 people.
One restriction that affects businesses have to do with the new curfew; restaurants, entertainment venues, and liquor stores are required to stop serving people at 9:30 p.m. A rule that Governor Baker acknowledged as being very unpopular.
“I think we’ll probably incorporate a lot of the feedback we’ve been getting from locals and from some of those industry associations into some further clarification on some of this,” Baker said.
The governor is asking all residents and businesses to follow these new guidelines in order to keep the state’s economy open and to prevent schools from having to close back down.
There is no timeline for when these restrictions will be lifted, all the governor has said about that is they will stay in effect for at least the next month.
