Gov. Baker Closing Non-Essential Businesses, Issues Stay-at-Home Advisory

NEW: Gov. Charlie Baker orders all non-essential businesses in Massachusetts to close Tuesday at noon https://t.co/7FtmrZJiUi #Breaking — WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) March 23, 2020

Gov. Charlie Baker announced an order closing non-essential businesses for two weeks, and put out a stay-at-home advisory to state residents, due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The order begins at noon on Tuesday, March 24 and runs through April 7. It closes physical workspaces and facilities to all workers, customers, and the public, Baker said, according to a report by WBZ Channel 4.

This list of essential businesses include medical facilities, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, restaurants open for delivery and take out and companies working on a vaccine for COVID-19, according to WBZ. Also medical equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturers, and the MBTA are exempted.

“We will always allow all grocery stores, pharmacies, and other types of businesses that provide essential goods and services to Massachusetts residents to continue to operate,” said Baker.

The order will be enforced at the local level, Baker said.

Baker also instructed the Mass Department of Public Health to issue a stay-at-home advisory to encourage residents to self-isolate and social distance.

“These steps are, of course, difficult to take. These aggressive social distancing measures put in place today are designed to give public health experts the time they need to ramp up additional steps that must be taken to effectively push back the virus. Other parts of the world have shown that this is possible,” Baker said, according to WCVB Channel 5.

Three more deaths from COVID-19 were reported in Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon, increasing the total to five. The state has 646 positive cases of Coronavirus.