MA Coronavirus: Most Gatherings Of 250+ Prohibited

By Mike Carraggi

Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday said Massachusetts is prohibiting most gatherings of more than 250 people in the latest drastic measure to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

The restriction applies to community and civic events, religious gatherings, concerts and more. It does not apply to major transit operations, such as Logan Airport and the MBTA, libraries, grocery stores, shopping malls, polling centers, restaurants and more.

“The time period we are in now marks a pivotal moment in what we do, and how we behave in our daily life to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Baker said.

Baker also said the state health officials are not recommending shutting down the entire school system. Dozens of school districts have closed for anywhere from two weeks to a month.

Boston Marathon rescheduled

The Boston Marathon has been rescheduled for the first time in its 124-year history. The race, which was set April 20, will be run on Sept. 14 — if all goes according to plan. “We want to make sure we keep people safe,” Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said.

Baker adjusts Open Meeting Law

Baker signed an order suspending parts of the Open Meeting Law to let local municipalities make quicker decisions during the state of emergency.

Jury trials postponed

The state’s highest court has suspended criminal and civil jury trials through April 21, at the earliest. People with symptoms or exposure to the coronavirus is not allowed in state courthouses.

Big Brewery makes changes

People are still drinking, but the state’s most popular brewery has announced major changes.

Schools closed for more than a week:

• Acton Public Schools – March 13- March 20
• Andover Public Schools – March 16-March 27
• Arlington Public Schools– March 12-March 27
• Bedford Public Schools – March 13-March 27
• Belmont Public Schools – March 13-March 27
• Brookline Public Schools – March 13- March 27
• Burlington Public Schools – March 13-March 27
• Codman Academy charter – Noon March 13 – March 27
• Cambridge Public Schools – March 14-March27
• Lexington Public Schools – March 13-March 27
• Malden Public Schools – “Indefinitely”
• Medford Public Schools – March 13- March 27
• Melrose Public Schools – March 14 – March 27
• Natick Public Schools – March 16 – March 18
• Needham Public Schools – March 13- March 27
• Newton Public Schools – March 13 – March 20 (then they’ll reassess)
• Norwood Public Schools – March 13 – March 20 (then they’ll reassess)
• Revere Public Schools – Closed indefinitely starting Friday, March 15
• Salem Public Schools – March 16 – March 30 (then they’ll reassess)
• Somerville Public Schools – March 13-March 27
• Sudbury Public Schools – March 13- March 30
• Wayland Public Schools- March 13 -March 30
• Waltham Public Schools – March 13 – March 27
• Wellesley Public Schools – March 12-March 27
• Weston Public Schools – March 12-March 18
• Winchester Public Schools – March 12-March 27
• Woburn Public Schools – Early release March 13, Closed – March 27

Schools

Arlington’s Stratton Elementary School

• When: Monday, March 9.
• Details: After an Arlington mother in her 40s tested “presumptive positive” for coronavirus Sunday, one of her children, a student at the Stratton School, started to show symptoms of the virus. As of Sunday, the child was waiting for test results.

Attleboro Public Schools

• When: Monday, March 16 through March 20
• Details: Attleboro Public Schools will be closed March 16-20 after a student was placed into self-quarantine on Friday. Further cancellations will be determined during the week. School officials said final day of school is now June 23, and that date will remain the final day of school regardless of future cancellations.

Bedford Public School’s High School

• When: March 12
• Details: After a student’s parent tested presumptive positive, Bedford High School closed for the day.

Boston Prep in Hyde Park

• When: March 6.
• Details: School officials closed the school for a day after students and teachers returned from a school trip to Italy. No one showed any symptoms, but the head of school said they wanted to deep clean, WHDH reported.

Boston’s Eliot K-8 (3 campuses)

• When: March 12 – March 19
• Details: Boston Public Schools announced a presumptive positive case of the coronavirus in a non-student member of the school community.

Braintree Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: Braintree school officials will provide another update this weekend on if schools will re-open Monday or stay closed.

Brockton High School

• When: March 13 and 16.
• Details: Brockton High School will be closed for two days so a deep cleaning can be done at the school. All weekend events were canceled, starting with a Thursday night speaker at North Middle School.

Brookline’s Lincoln School

• When: March 12 and 13.
• Details: One of two Brookline residents to test positive for coronavirus March 11 has a child at the Lincoln school. The student isn’t showing any symptoms, but officials want to clean it.

Cambridge Public Schools

• When: March 14-March27
• Details: Open on Friday, but closed for two weeks after that.

Clarksburg Public Schools in Berkshire County

• When: March 9 – March 13.
• Details: The district said it was taking the precautionary measure of shutting down the Clarksburg School, after someone was diagnosed with new coronavirus. in addition to the library, senior center and town hall so they could thoroughly clean the buildings.

Dudley-Charlton Regional School District

• When: Friday, March 13
• Details: Thursday officials learned that a parent, who is symptomatic is being tested for COVID-19.

Framingham’s Potter Road Elementary

• When: March 11, 12.
• Details: The parent of one student has tested positive, according to the principal.

Greater Lawrence Technical High School in Andover

• When: March 16 to 20
• Details: The school is going online-only for the week.

Hopkinton Public Schools

• When: Wednesday, March 11

Hingham Public Schools

• When: Friday, March 13 and Monday, March 16
• Details: Officials announced they’ll make a determination Monday about future closings.

Lynnfield Public Schools, Summer Street School

• When: Thursday, March 12 and Friday, March 13
• Details: The school will be closed for cleaning to undergo cleaning after an employee had a potential exposure with two people who have tested positive for COVID-19, the district said

Malden’s Mystic Valley Regional Charter School

• When: March 11 to March 13.
• Details: Even though the superintendent said no students were showing symptoms of the new coronavirus, he said the school would close out of an abundance of caution.

Marblehead Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: No Classes Friday For Marblehead

Marlborough’s Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter

• When: March 12 and Friday, March 13.
• Details: The school announced it would do a deep cleaning and electrostatic disinfection and sanitation process throughout its three school buildings. Extracurricular activities are canceled on both days.

Marshfield Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: Deep cleaning.

Medfield Public Schools

• When: Friday, March 13
• Details: There are know cases of the new coronavirus in Medfield, but school officials are using this time to plan for the event of a long-term closure.

Milford Public Schools

• When: March 12, 13
• Details: A staff member at one elementary school may have been exposed to COVID-19. Schools were closed on Thursday and Friday as a precaution.

Milton’s Milton Academy

• When: Now until April
• Details: The school announced it would shut down until mid April, at least.

Newton Public Schools

• When: March 13-March 18

Newton’s Temple Shalom Nursery School

• When: March 9.
• Details: The nursery school is closed for a day after a parent of one of the students was diagnosed with a “presumptive positive” case of coronavirus, including symptoms, according to a statement from the temple. The child is not experiencing any symptoms.

Norfolk Public Schools

• When:Friday, March 13
• Details: A decision about the coming weeks will be made by the end of the week. Further guidelines are expected from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on Friday.

Norfolk’s KingPhilip Regional School District schools

• When: March 13

Northeast Metro Tech

• When: March 13

Plainville’s Anna Ware Jackson Elementary and Beatrice H. Wood Elementary schools

• When: March 9.
• Details: The two schools will be closed for a day to be sanitized, according to the school district’s website.

Plymouth Public Schools

• When: March 6, and weekend events.
• Details: After a student who came home from Italy with flu-like symptoms was taken to the hospital, the district closed school to disinfect classrooms and busses.

Salem Public Schools’ Salem High School

• When: March 12 – March 13
• Details: Salem High School will be closed through Friday over coronavirus concerns after the school’s principal traveled to Paris, France this past weekend, school officials said. School dismissal began at 10:30 a.m. Thursday for students.
  

Sharon Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: Sharon Public Schools were closed on Friday and will be reevaluated in advance of a possible return to class on Monday.

Shawsheen Valley Technical High School – Billerica

• When: March 16 – March 20
• Details: The school announced it would close to support social distancing.

Somerville Public Schools

• When: March 11- March 30
• Details: After two parents of students tested positive at state labs on March 11, the district announced all schools would close for the remainder of the week.

Swampscott Public Schools

• When: Friday, March 13
• Details: Swampscott Schools Cancel Friday Classes

Tewksbury Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: A number of students and staff are in self-quarantine, so the district announced a one-day closure to allow thorough cleaning.

Waltham Public Schools

• When: March 13
• Details: In an effort to mitigate the spread of coronavirus , Waltham Public Schools announced it was closing schools for Friday. The plan is to reacess during the weekend. Also, SAT testing is canceled this month.

Wayland Middle School, Loker Elementary School

• When: March 11
• Details: Two children of a person with presumed coronavirus attended the two schools.

Wellesley’s Upham Elementary and Wellesley Middle School

• When: March 6.
• Details: After a Wellesley parent tested positive for coronavirus in the state labs, the district closed the two schools her children attend.

Wellesley’s Public Schools – all

• When: March 13 for two weeks.
• Details: It’s part of mitigation efforts to keep coronavirus cases low, according to the district.

Weston Public Schools

• When: Closed through Wednesday, March 18
• Details: The district was notified that a Weston student is symptomatic and the results of their COVID-19 test came back inconclusive. Additionally, a student connected to a previous case is under quarantine. Taking these and other factors into consideration, as a measure to slow the potential rapid spread of this virus, the district determined it was necessary to close all Weston Schools for an extended period of time.

West Springfield’s Mittineague Elementary School

• When: Closed Tuesday, March 10
• Details: A substitute employee’s family member may have had contact with the coronavirus substitute had worked in the Mittineague School and notified officials of the situation Monday, March 9. Neither the substitute nor the family member have any symptoms of the virus.

Wilmington Public Schools

• When: March 12 and 13.
• Details: After a Wilmington parent showed symptoms of coronavirus, the district closed all schools for extra cleaning.

Winchendon Public Schools

• When: March 11 until futher notice.
• Details: The district announced March 11 that schools are closed after a staff member at the high school reported a potential exposure.

Winchester Public Schools, Ambrose School

• When: Thursday, March 12
• Details: a student tested positive for COVID-19.

Worcester Public Schools

• When: Friday, March 13

Worcester’s St. Mary’s Schools

• When: March 9.
• Details: A relative of a staff member was exposed to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus in another state, Patch previously reported.

Colleges and Universities:

Amherst College – In Amherst

• When: Classes will be canceled March 12-13, kicking off spring break early. Monday night it switched to online education after spring break, which ends March 22.
• Details: Amherst became the first college in Massachusetts to shut down.

Babson – In Wellesley

• When: Classes become fully online beginning March 13 through the end of spring semester.
• Details: School officials said this was a proactive measure. Officials said students will be able to meet academic requirements remotely. Students must move out of residents halls by March 21.

Becker College – In Worcester

• When: Closed until March 27
• Details: They will teach via online classes until then and at that time will reacess.

Bentley University — In Waltham

• When: March 16-20
• Details: No classes March 16-20 as the university and students prepare to move to remote, online classes beginning Monday, March 23. Remote classes will continue until at least Friday, April 3. Students must remain off-campus, but can return if necessary to retrieve important items until Tuesday, March 17. Limited accommodations will be made for students who cannot return home due to extenuating circumstances.

Berklee College of Music — Boston

• When: Starting now.
• Details: Berklee will move classes online, the school announced Wednesday, and all performances, events, and visting artists at the conservatory have been canceled until further notice. All students can complete classes remotely and the school has asked them not to return to campus after spring break, though residence halls will remain open for those with extenuating circumstances.

Boston College – In Chestnut Hill

• When: March 11 classes suspended. Leave campus by March 15
• Details: BC announced it would suspend classes at the end of the evening of March 11. Students will be required to vacate the campus and return home by 9 p.m. Sunday March 15.

Boston University – In Boston

• When: Today through April 13.
• Details: Boston University moves classes online effective today. Officials are asking students to avoid campus, and go home if possible. However dorms will remain open to those who need it.

Brandeis – In Waltham

• When: No classes will be held in-person after March 20. All classes of 100 students or more will move online as of Monday, March 16. There will be no classes between March 23 and 25, and then all classes will resume online starting March 26.
• Details: All students, except those who have received special permission from the Department of Community Living, will be required to move out by March 25. Students may begin moving out earlier if they want to.

Bridgewater State University

• When: March 16 through March 20.
• Details: Classes are expected to resume March 23This extension will permit the university to complete planning in the event it needs to move to an online format for conducting most of our classes, and to thoroughly clean all interior areas of the campus. For students, this extension will not impact the completion of courses or credits earned.

Bryant University

• When: Online classes will start March 17, on campus activities through March 27
• Details: Bryant said it will keep its campus open but move to online classes starting March 17 and suspending on-campus activities through March 27. Students are told not to return to campus after spring break, the school announced.

Bunker Hill Community College

• When: March 12 – 16
• Details: Charlestown and Chelsea campuses are closed.

Clark University

• When: No classes starting March 13, resume online March 23
• Details: Clark will switch to online learning starting March 23. Most students will have to leave campus by 5 p.m. on March 22.

Curry College

• When: March 11 to March 22
• Details: Curry has suspended all in-person classes and extended spring break by one week through March 22. The school said in an announcement it will hold classes online for “as long as necessary.”

Emerson – In Boston

• When: March 13 will be last day of in person classes on Boston’s campus. March 16-20 no classes. March 23 classes will resume remotely.
• Details: Emerson officials said students can still live on campus and housing and dining services will still be on.

Emmanuel College

• When: March 11 – March 27
• Details: Emmanuel announced Wednesday it will move all classes online through at least March 27. The school has extended spring break, and asked students not return to campus before the end of the month.

Fisher College

• When: Spring break extended to March 17, Classes online March 18
• Details: Fisher College will extend spring break to March 17 and move classes online starting March 18. Students can petition to stay on campus if they can’t go home the college announced.

Framingham State University

• When: Spring break extended by one week
• Details: Classes will begin again on campus on March 30. Students will have to leave campus between March 13 and March 29.

Harvard — In Cambridge

• When: Spring semester.
• Details: Harvard asked students not to return after spring break. Harvard University will shut down campus to students and move all courses online for the duration of the spring semester, becoming the highest-profile university to make the bold move amid fears of the new coronavirus.

Holy Cross

• When: March 14
• Details: Students have to leave campus living arrangements and classes are moving online.

Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)

• When: March 16-22
• Details: The school announced Wednesday that the college will suspend all campus activity for one week for a campus deep-cleaning. Students must move out of campus residence halls and there will be no classes or studio access during that time.

Merrimack College — In North Andover

• When: Through March 22
• Details: The college extended spring break by one week while it considers options for online learning.

MIT — In Cambridge

• When: March 10 – until further notice for classes larger than 150. March 16 – March 20 all classes.
• Details: MIT announced Sunday that all classes with more than 150 students would go online starting on Tuesday, despite low risk there. Small classes would still happen on campus. The university is also cancelling large events. Then, on Tuesday, the school announced all classes would be canceled from March 16 until March 20 because the following week is spring break and it would allow faculty a chance to transition to online instruction. Online classes will begin for all classes March 30 and continue for the rest of the semester. The school is asking any one who lives on campus or in MIT dorms, to move out by March 17.

MGH Institute of Health Professions

• When: March 16 through the end of Spring semester
• Details: The institute is transitioning coursework to virtual instruction starting March 16 through the remainder of the Spring semester, according to a letter from the president.

Northeastern – In Boston

• When: Classes move online only beginning March 12
• Details: Northeastern officials said students will not have to move out of the dorms.

New England Conservatory NEC – In Boston

• When: March 11
• Details: The school announced it is moving to online classes and has canceled all in-person classes along with ensembles and performances for the remainder of the spring semester. Students are strongly encouraged to return home for the remainder of the semester.

Olin College of Engineering – In Needham

• When: March 10 until further notice
• Details: Olin is moving to online classes. They told students not to return to campus after spring break.

Pine Manor College – In Brookline

Details: Pine Manor College will begin its Spring Break starting Thursday, March 12 (instead of on Monday the 16), in response to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts.
Classes will resume online beginning on Monday, March 23. All instructions will be conducted remotely and there will be NO in-class sessions.

Regis College – Weston

• When: March 11 – until further notice.
• Details: Classes will move online. Students at Regis College can stay in residence halls Regis said in an announcement. The college said it will cancel nonessential gatherings of more than 50 people.

Smith College – In Northampton

• When: March 14 – until March 20
• Details: The school sent out emails telling students to move out of on-campus housing by March 14 until March 20 because of to COVID-19 coronavirus.

Stonehill – In Easton

• When: March 18 – until March 29
• Details: Classes will shift to online after spring break ends on March 18 with a two-week restriction to campus. The campus is tentatively scheduled to reopen March 29 with in-person classes to resume on March 30. Spring athletics are scheduled to continue at this time.

Suffolk – In Boston

• When: March 18- end of the semester
• Details: Students will have two days extra for spring break and when they return, they’ll be attending classes online until the end of the semester. Students have to move out of campus housing, except special cases and international students.

Tufts – In Somerville

• When: Move out by March 16. Online classes start March 25,
• Details: Students will have two extra days for spring break and then when they return they’ll be attending classes online until the end of the semester. Students have to move out of campus housing by March 16. There has been an exception for anyone unable to go home because of travel restrictions or “significant constraints.”

University of Massachusetts

All campuses

Wentworth Institute of Technology – In Boston

• When: For the rest of the spring semester
• Details: The school announced that classes will go online and residence halls will be closed for the rest of the spring semester.

Westfield State

• When: March 16-27
• Details: Westfield State will cancel in-person classes for the week of March 16-20. Online classes begin March 23-27, the school announced.

Williams – In Williamstown

• When: In-person classes end March 13, spring break starts March 14, a week earlier than planned.
• Details: Williams’ officials said they will be moving to remote learning beginning on Monday, April 6.

Wheaton- In Norton

• When: Spring break extended to March 22. Online classes start March 23,
• Details: Students will be required to leave campus by March 22 at 5 p.m. with online classes to begin the next day. This will continue through the end of the spring semester. The NEWMAC has also canceled all spring athletic season competitions. Decisions on senior week and commencement ceremonies will be made at a later date.

Worcester Polytechnic

• When: All classes moving online through April
• Details: The school has suspended international travel and will hold classes online beginning at the end of March.

Worcester State

• When: Spring break extended to March 29
• Details: All non-online classes are canceled for an additional week after spring break.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21. On March 10, the same day Boston cancelled the St. Patrick’s Day parade, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency. Then, on March 11, the World Health Organization declared it a pandemic. So far, the Boston Marathon is still on: What Coronavirus Means For The Boston Marathon.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment. Older adults and people with underlying health conditions are most at risk, according to health officials.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.