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On December 22, 2020, in response to the escalating concerns about the potential of a post-Christmas COVID-19 surge like that experienced after Thanksgiving, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker issued COVID-19 Order No. 59. These new measures go into effect at 12:01am on Saturday, December 26, 2020.
Key provisions include adjustments to the State-wide capacity limitations for gatherings and events that were set in COVID-19 Order No. 57, including the following:
Restaurants are limited to 25% of seating capacity.
Close contact personal services are limited to 25% occupancy.
Movie theaters are limited to 25% seating capacity and a maximum of 50 people.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker rolled out a $668 million relief program on Dec. 23 targeted at helping small businesses, giving priority to those that have been hit hardest by the pandemic, including restaurants and bars. Half of the funds are expected to go to businesses that were unable to access the state’s previous small business aid efforts, which were heavily oversubscribed. Businesses that applied previously but were unable to access state aid will not be forced to re-apply this time around, Gov. Baker said.
The program, which will be administered by the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corp., and paid for in most part by the recently passed $900 billion federal stimulus bill, will provide small businesses with up to $75,000 or three months of their operating expenses. The funds, which will be paid out as grants (and will therefore not need to be repaid), can be used to cover payroll, mortgages, debt, and other operating costs. The sta
The pandemic has taken a crisis of housing affordability and made it worse. In western Massachusetts and elsewhere, growing numbers of people are falling