COVID-19: Reopening in the City of Boston

• grocery stores, bodegas, and pharmacies
• laundromats and laundry services
• gas stations, auto repair, and bike repair shops
• moving and storage
• hotels to accommodate essential workers and vulnerable populations
• hardware stores, pet stores, postal stores (including private delivery companies)
• banks, and
• plumbers, electricians, and inspectors for emergency services.

• Construction will resume in the City of Boston in a phased manner (work on schools, hospitals, some residential work, and open-air construction until May 25)
• Manufacturing
• Places of worship (View City guidance for houses of worship)

• The City will permit any construction type that is allowed by the state, with the required COVID-19 Safety Affidavits and COVID-19 Safety Plans for permitted construction work in place.
• Auto dealers and wholesalers (for curbside pickup and delivery only)
• Car washes
• Drive-in movie theaters
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Lab spaces
• Libraries, for curbside pickup and delivery only (excludes Boston locations). As of June 22, patrons will be able to pick up physical items at the Boston Public Library with the new “BPL to Go” program.
• Pet grooming
• Retail for curbside pickup and delivery only (such as clothing stores, toy stores, jewelry stores, nurseries and garden centers that don’t sell food products, adult use cannabis stores)

• General office spaces: The City of Boston’s operational recommendations for businesses, employers, and commercial landlords for return-to-work strategies for office workplaces can be found online.

• Retail, with occupancy limits
• Childcare facilities and day camps, with detailed guidance
• Restaurants, outdoor table service only
• Hotels and other lodgings, no events, functions or meetings
• Warehouses and distribution centers
• Personal services without close physical contact, such as home cleaning, photography, window washing, career coaching and education tutoring
• Post-secondary, higher education, vocational-tech and occupation schools for the purpose of completing graduation requirements
• Youth and adult amateur sports, with detailed guidance
• Outdoor recreation facilities (View City guidance on outdoor fitness)
• Golf facilities, including outdoor driving ranges
• Professional sports practices, no games or public admissions
• Non-athletic youth instructional classes in arts, education or life skills and in groups of less than 10
• Driving and flight schools
• Outdoor historical spaces; no functions, gatherings or guided tours
• Funeral homes, with occupancy limits

• Indoor table service at restaurants
• Close-contact personal services, with restrictions, including:
  • Hair removal and replacement
  • Nail care
  • Skin care
  • Massage therapy
  • Makeup salons and makeup application services
  • Tanning salons
  • Tattoo, piercing and body art services
  • Personal training, with restrictions
• Retail dressing rooms, by appointment only
• Offices, at 50 percent capacity

Update: On November 2, the state announced a series of targeted measures to disrupt the increasing trend of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations:

• a revised Stay-At-Home Advisory instructing residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
• a new executive order requiring the early closure of certain businesses and activities each night at 9:30 p.m., including restaurants, liquor stores and other retail establishments, gyms, and indoor and outdoor events (view the full list of businesses)
• a revised order requiring all persons to wear face-coverings in all public places, even where they are able to maintain six feet of distance from others, and
• an updated order restricting gatherings. Indoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 10 people and outdoor gatherings at private residences are limited to 25 people.

Phase 3, Step 1 will begin on Monday, July 6, except for Boston, where it will begin on Monday, July 13. The updated gathering advisory goes into effect on July 6 as well, except for in Boston, where it will take effect on July 13. 

The following businesses will be eligible to reopen in Step One of Phase III, subject to industry-specific rules concerning capacity and operations:

• Movie theaters and outdoor performance venues
• Museums, cultural, and historical sites
• Fitness centers and health clubs
• Certain indoor recreational activities with low potential for contact
• Professional sports teams, under the authority of league-wide rules, may hold games without spectators

Each operator of an indoor event must monitor attendee entries and exits and limit occupancy at all times to eight persons per 1,000 square feet of accessible, indoor floor space and no more than 25 persons.

Outdoor gatherings in enclosed spaces are limited to 25 percent of the facility’s maximum permitted occupancy (as documented in its occupancy permit on record with the municipal building department or other municipal record holder), and no more than 50 persons.