BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Gov. Charlie Baker issued an order Monday morning for all non-essential businesses in the Commonwealth to close starting at noon Tuesday, as coronavirus cases grow across Massachusetts.
The order, along with a "stay at home" advisory, will be in place through April 7.
But what qualifies as "essential" according to the order? A complete list of "essential services" can be found from mass.gov here, but here's our breakdown of what industries and workplaces will continue to operate normally:
- Supermarkets and pharmacies
- Restaurants, but only for take-out and delivery—and only if they're properly following social distancing guidelines.
- Certain day care and child care centers, but only for the children of essential workers. A list of exempt child care centers can be found here.
- Healthcare, public health, and human services
- Law enforcement, public safety, and first responders
- Convenience stores
- Gas stations
- Liquor stores
- Farms
- Energy industry—including electrical, petroleum, natural and propane gas, and steam plant workers
- Water and wastewater industry
- Public Works departments
- HVAC
- Hotels
- Laundromats and laundry services
- Auto repair shops
- Hardware stores
- Pet supply stores
- Public transit
- Communications and information industry
- News media
- Chemical and hazardous materials industries
- Critical manufacturing of materials needed for medical supplies, including the production of personal protective equipment
- Financial services
- Defense industry
So what's closed? Everything else. Check the full mass.gov list of essential businesses here. Businesses that don't make the cut can request to be designated as essential via this form.
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