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  2020-07-24

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 45 - Mandatory Quarantine Order for Outside Travelers

  Governor Charles Baker issued this executive order making 14-day quarantines for out-of-state travelers mandatory on July 24, 2020, in a departure from the advisory "order" declared in March asking travelers to either quarantine or avoid the commonwealth all together. This order exempts seven Northeastern states whose COVID levels had been deemed "low-risk," but required all out-of-state travelers from the remaining 43 states, and returning residents, to self-isolate or obtain a negative test result 72 hours prior to arrival. Failure to meet these guidelines carried with it a penalty of a $500/day fine; a feature that was absent from the earlier travel advisory guidelines. With Massachusetts having seen improvement from the springtime surge that left tens of thousands of residents infected and over 8,000 dead, the Commonwealth sought to stay ahead of the virus curve and squelch an expected resurgence, as tens of thousands of returning students from across the country prepared to descend upon greater Boston colleges and universities in the fall.
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  2020-06-19

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 40: Advancing Phase II Reopening

  This executive order from mid-June of 2020 allows for restaurants and "close contact personal services" to reopen their "brick-and-mortar premises" and resume indoor table service.
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  2020-07-02

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 44 - Revised Public Gathering Mandate

  On July 2, 2020, Governor Charles Baker revised COVID-19 Order No. 38 to exclude businesses designated as "a Phase I, Phase II, or Phase III enterprise" that is allowed to open its environs to workers and the public from gathering restrictions, provided that said businesses are following the state's COVID-19 safety rules.
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  2020-06-06

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Executive Order No. 38

  As Massachusetts began its slow, phased reopening following the end of its lockdown, Governor Charles Baker issued this order extending the prohibition of gatherings of 10 or more people "in any confined indoor or outdoor space." This mandate reflects the abundance of caution taken by the state, as opposed to states that hurried their reopening in an effort to re-start their economy.
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  2020-06-01

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 35

  Following the announcement of Massachusetts's reopening, this order, signed by Governor Baker on June 1, 2020, clarified the details as to how the state would progress. While some states attempted to rush their reopening in a bid for a quick economic revival, Governor Baker and his team of advisors opted for a much slower and methodical approach, especially given Massachusetts's high number of COVID-19 cases and the correspondingly high death toll. Northeastern University Northeastern University
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  2020-05-18

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 33

  As states came under pressure to reopen their economies despite the pandemic's continued presence, the Governor's Office unveiled this phased reopening plan that sought to slowly revive the economy while imposing safety measures to guard the public's health. Northeastern University
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  May 18, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 34

  As Massachusetts began its slow reopening process, the Governor allowed for beaches to reopen to a certain spectrum of "passive recreational activities." However, state authorities retained the power to limit the size of crowds and ensure social distancing.
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  May 15, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 32

  Governor Charlie Baker's extension of the state lock down to May 19, 2020. As Massachusetts prepared to follow other states by gradually reopening its economy, the governor issued this order as part of "a measured relaxation of currently existing restrictions."
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  May 1, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 31

  This order required that all residents of the state above the age of 2 years must wear a face mask/covering, either inside or outside, when social distancing is not possible. As scientists raced to understand COVID-19's transmission, the medical community's stance on face masks gradually shifted. In the early days of the pandemic, physicians and public health officials advised against the use of masks, citing their relative ineffectiveness, only to do an about-face a couple of months later by stressing their importance in cutting down on the airborne contagions that allow the virus to jump from person-to-person.
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  April 28, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 30

  Effective on April 28, 2020, this measure extended the state's lock down by maintaining the closure of certain non-essential workplaces, as well as the prohibition on gathering of 10 people or more.
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  April 28, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 29

  A revision of a previous COVID order allowing the Governor's Council to engage in remote participation.
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  April 16, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order - 4/16/2020

  This executive order authorized the creation of emergency residential and emergency placement programs for children during the course of the COVID-19 emergency.
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  April 9, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 24

  Order effective on April 9, 2020, that permitted graduate and senior level nursing students to begin practicing; a direct reflection of the dire need for qualified medical personnel to be on hand for the surge of COVID cases that could potentially overwhelm the state's hospital system.
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  April 9, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 25

  In an effort to expand citizens' access to medical services, Governor Baker signed this order so as to require all major health insurers in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to cover any and all medical services related to COVID-19.
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  March 26, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 17

  This order suspends deadlines related to state permits and extends existing permits' validity. Northeastern JOTPY
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  March 26, 2020

  Massachusetts COVID-19 Order No. 18

  One of Governor Charlie Baker's early executive orders extending licenses, permits, and registrations not already covered by previous orders. This highlights the importance of ensuring that all essential services and operations were able to function with little to no interruption during the pandemic.
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  March 20, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Reducing In-Person Transactions at the DMV

  Signed on March 20,2020, this executive order sought to reinforce the state's social distancing measures by reducing the level of contact between people at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
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  March 20, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Permitting the Deferral of Certain Real Estate Inspections

  This executive order signed by Governor Baker on March 20, 2020, permitted the deferral of real estate inspections during home sales or transfers, thereby placing the responsibility of equipping the dwelling with proper alarms/detection systems on the buyer and not the seller.
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  03/23/2020

  Massachusetts Executive COVID-19 Order No. 13

  This order limited gatherings of 10 or more and closed non-essential services, while mandating the continued operations of all essential operations. Signed by Governor Baker on March 23, 2020, the order sought to "minimize all unnecessary activities outside of the home during the state of emergency."
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  March 18, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Closing Child Care Programs and Authorizing the Creation of Emergency Measures

  Signed by Governor Baker on March 18, 2020, this executive order sought to mitigate the virus's spread by closing all child care facilities in the state; a necessary step according to health officials, since COVID-19 easily spread from asymptomatic children to adults.
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  March 12, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Regarding the Suspension of certain Open Meeting Law Provisions

  This executive order, signed by Governor Baker on March 12th, 2020, relieves a "public body" from conducting its business in an openly accessible meeting place in favor of "adequate, alternative means," particularly remote options. Yet another mitigation effort, this order also reveals how Massachusetts, and society in general, had to adapt to strict social distancing measures in order to carry on day-to-day operations.
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  3/15/2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Expanding Telehealth Services and Protecting Health Care Providers

  Because strict social distancing measures were necessary to combat the virus's spread, telehealth/medicine became essential delivery systems for medical services during the pandemic. On March 15th, 2020, Governor Baker signed this order requiring all in-network healthcare providers to render medical services via telehealth, therefore highlighting how technology acted as a mitigation tool to slow COVID-19. Moreover, this order underscores how the virus has altered how people interacted with the health care system.
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  March 17, 2020

  Massachusetts Executive Order Expanding Access to Physician Services

  Because of the stealthy nature of COVID-19's transmission, and the lethal threat it posed to high-population centers like Boston, state and local health officials braced for a public health emergency that could potentially overwhelm the health care system. Signed by Governor Baker on March 17th, 2020, this executive order expanded the number of physicians permitted to practice in Massachusetts by allowing retired physicians to return upon request, extending physicians' soon-to-expire licenses, and granting emergency licenses to out-of-state physicians with good standing.
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  2020-03-17

  Massachusetts Executive Order Regarding the Registration of Health Care Professionals

  With an urgent need for health care professionals to be on hand to combat the coronavirus, Governor Charlie Baker signed this executive order extending/validating the license registration of all essential medical professionals whose license was about to expire for a period of no less than 90 days after the termination of the state's health emergency. This reflects the impending stress that the virus would place upon Massachusetts's health system, thus necessitating the need for all medical personnel to be available.
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  2020-03-13

  Massachusetts Executive Order Prohibiting All Gatherings of More than 250 People

  Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker's executive order banning large public gatherings in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak. With densely-populated areas such as Greater Boston, such measures were absolutely essential to halting the virus's spread across the city.