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On Monday, Oct. 5, communities will be able to move onto Step 2 of Phase 3 in Massachusetts re-opening plan if they are considered low-risk for COVID-19 infection.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, Gov. Charlie Baker said commonwealth communities that have not been “red” for the last three weeks can proceed to Step 2.
Being a “red” community refers to the state’s COVID-19 infection, color-coded maps. Communities in the red have the highest rate of infection, the second highest is yellow, then red, and finally gray communities pose the lowest of all risk.
The communities that have been in the red over the last three weeks are:
- Chatham
- Chelsea
- Dedham
- Everett
- Framingham
- Holliston
- Lawrence
- Lynn
- Lynnfield
- Marlborough
- Methuen
- Monson
- Nantucket
- New Bedford
- Plainville
- Revere
- Saugus
- Tyngsborough
- Winthrop
- Worcester
- Wrentham.
Starting Monday, Oct. 5, municipalities that are moving on to Step 2 will be able to:
- Open indoor performance spaces can have up to 50 percent capacity - a maximum of 250 people
- Outdoor performance venues can increase to 50 percent capacity - maximum of 250 people
- Arcades and indoor and outdoor recreation businesses can add more activities including trampolines, obstacle courses, roller rinks, and laser tag
- Fitting rooms in retail shops can open again
- Gyms, museums, and libraries can increase capacity to 50 percent occupancy.
Among the communities not moving forward, Everett is the only one with a chance at moving on with reopening when the newest state numbers come out the week of Sept. 30.
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