There has been a lot of confusion surrounding Massachusetts’s Covid laws and the enforcement of those laws. So I will try to clear those up for you. On Monday, November 2nd, Governor Charlie Baker announced an updated set of rules regarding curfews, masks, indoor and outdoor gathering limits, and new business hour restrictions. These new restrictions, according to Baker, are to, “Slow the spread of COVID and protect our hospital system [... because] we can’t afford to continue to do what we’ve been doing [in reference to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the state].” I will go one by one to explain each of those updated rules.
First, the curfew, or the formal name, a stay at home advisory; this is in effect from 10 PM-5 AM. With exceptions for grocery shopping or a medical emergency, people are not supposed to leave their homes. When Baker was asked about how the state can enforce the stay at home advisory, to paraphrase, he said that it was a tool for law enforcement to break up parties after 10. However, there is no monetary punishment for staying out past 10, and it is more of a request. Next, I will discuss the mask mandate. The mandate requires everyone above the age of 5 to wear a face-covering; an important difference from the old order is that there is now no exception in the mandate for maintaining a six-foot distance. Baker said this is “to make it easier to follow and local officials to enforce.” So, what is the enforcement of this ordinance? If you are inside a store or restaurant the employees can kick you out or simply not serve you if you lack a face covering. On the other hand, while outside, the mask mandate is up to the town to decide whether or not to enforce. Almost all cities and towns in Massachusetts, from my research, have chosen not to implement a fine. Still, the dozen or so towns and cities that did decide to implement a fine system have only given out warnings. Next to indoor and outdoor gatherings, the governor instituted limits to ten people for indoor gatherings and 25 for outdoor gatherings. And those gatherings are required to end by 10:00 PM. Baker stated that “The intact is to cut down on the transmission that we all know is occurring in social gatherings.” He later pleaded that “Young people need to stop having big house parties.” Finally, for business hour restrictions, with exemptions for places like hospitals, virtually all businesses are required to close by 9:30 PM. However, restaurants are allowed to provide take-out past 9:30 PM. Baker stated that the 9:30 rule is in place to enable people to get home by 10. If businesses do not comply, then they could lose their business license or get fined.
To conclude with what the governor said: “State government’s ability to stop a pandemic is nothing compared to the power of individual choice.” This means that if we want to mitigate the pandemic’s effects, we must all wear our masks, comply with curfew times, and not go to parties, even if these rules are loosely enforced.
Note: All of the quotes from Gov. Charlie Baker are from a press conference that he held on November 2nd, 2020.