Governor Charlie Baker on Monday unveiled a four-phase reopening plan that will begin around May 18, assuming Massachusetts continues to see improvement in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. In order to reopen, the Baker administration announced that workplaces must implement a series of safety measures. These measures are mandatory for all businesses that can open during Phase One, according to a press release.
Here they are in full, as released by the Baker administration.
For social distancing:
- All persons, including employees, customers, and vendors should remain at least six feet apart to the greatest extent possible, both inside and outside workplaces
- Establish protocols to ensure that employees can practice adequate social distancing
- Provide signage for safe social distancing
- Require face coverings or masks for all employees
For hygiene:
- Provide hand washing capabilities throughout the workplace
- Ensure frequent hand washing by employees and adequate supplies to do so
- Provide regular sanitization of high touch areas, such as workstations, equipment, screens, doorknobs, restrooms throughout work site
For staffing and operations:
- Provide training for employees regarding the social distancing and hygiene protocols
- Employees who are displaying COVID19-like symptoms do not report to work
- Establish a plan for employees getting ill from COVID-19 at work, and a return-to-work plan
For cleaning and disinfecting:
- Establish and maintain cleaning protocols specific to the business
- When an active employee is diagnosed with COVID-19, cleaning and disinfecting must be performed
- Disinfection of all common surfaces must take place at intervals appropriate to said workplace
Christina Prignano can be reached at christina.prignano@globe.com. Follow her @cprignano.