Easton Guide To Reopening Businesses Amid Coronavirus Crisis

EASTON, MA — As Easton businesses start the process of reopening this week with the opening of barbers, nail salons and some retail locations for curbside pickup, there are many guidelines that local businesses will have to follow.

All industries allowed to reopen will need to adhere to detailed restrictions.

"It is critical that businesses who are eligible to reopen and plan to reopen in the first phase abide by the standards put in place by the state," Easton Town Administrator Connor Read said. "These standards, and the standards put forth for businesses in each subsequent phase, will help to ensure that our community can continue to reopen sensibly and safely."

Business owners and sector leaders who plan on reopening under Gov. Charlie Baker's recent order are required to adhere to a new set of standards that will apply universally to all workplaces and are designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission to employees and customers.

Sector-specific standards can be found here, along with universal standards.

Those who wish to reopen their business under phase one must abide by the following safety standard protocols set forth by the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the COVID-19 Command Center for workplaces.

• Everyone inside a workplace establishment, including employees, customers and vendors, must remain at least 6 feet apart. Businesses should provide work place protocols and signage for safe social distancing and wear face coverings.
• All employees should follow basic hygiene recommendations. Frequent hand washing should be practiced and the workplace should conduct regular sanitization of high touch areas, such as workstations, equipment, screens, doorknobs, etc.
• All employees should be trained in social distancing and hygiene protocols. Anyone found to be sick or showing symptoms of COVID-19 SHOULD NOT report to work and plans should be set into place for if illnesses occur.
• Lastly, business shall establish and maintain a cleaning and disinfecting protocol specific to their industry. Cleaning and disinfecting must be performed after a worker is diagnosed with COVID-19.

Businesses must develop a control plan for dealing with cleaning, staff protocols and any positive tests associated with the business. The control plan template may be found online here.

In addition to the COVID-19 Control Plan template, businesses must complete and sign the following checklist, and display the checklist in an area within the business premises that is visible to employees and visitors.

The Easton Board of Health has enacted a regulation which requires that a copy of these documents be filed with the board as well as kept on the premises.

There are industry-specific restrictions for many industries that are able open this week. Those, and more information, can be found herecan be found here.

Download and Print Mandatory Flyers

• Employer Reopening Poster
• Employee Reopening Poster
• Compliance Attestation Poster