Medford Announces Phased Reopening Guidelines For Businesses

MEDFORD, MA – Mayor Breanna-Lungo-Koehn outlined the city's plan for phased reopening of businesses and services following Gov. Charlie Baker's announcement Monday.

As of Monday, May 18, construction operations and manufacturing businesses will be able to operate within the city, as long as each sector adheres to health and safety guidelines and to occupancy limits as established by the state's Reopening Advisory Board. Per the guidelines set by the Board, all establishments planning to open on this timeline must submit a health and safety checklist to the Medford Board of Health by emailing covid19info@medford-ma.gov.

Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in enforcement as follows:

• 1st offense: verbal warning
• 2nd offense: written warning
• 3rd – 5th offenses: fines up to $300 for each offense
• Final notice: cease & desist letter

In addition to posting health and safety standards, employees must also wear face coverings over their nose and mouth, practice social distancing when possible, and use good hygiene methods such as washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Employees who are ill should not report to work. Operating guidelines for houses of worship are currently under review by the Board of Health.

Medford plans to follow the state's timeline for phased reopening of businesses offering personal care services; however, the mayor and Board of Health will utilize local health data to determine if that timeline may need to be adjusted. This can include delaying the reopening of these businesses and/or issuing a subsequent local order if the number of positive coronavirus cases begins to rise.

All businesses and organizations will be required to adhere to health and safety regulations issued by the state, and will be monitored by the Board of Health and its agents. These full regulations are available on the state website, www.mass.gov/reopening.

“The efforts and sacrifices we have all made over the last two months have been difficult, but they have also been successful in preventing further devastation as a result of COVID-19. Data shows that, thanks to our efforts across the state, we were able to decrease the anticipated surge in ICU cases by one-half to two-thirds, and that’s encouraging," Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. "I'm hopeful that the data will continue in the right direction and that we can work toward our new normal in the weeks ahead, but we have to be cautious in order to avoid future spikes in cases. I’m optimistic about the approach laid out by the Reopening Advisory Board, and we’ll be working at the local level to do all we can to create an approach that is safe and sensible for our residents and our businesses."

At this time, Medford City Hall remains closed to the public for walk-in business, however all transactions can be completed either online or by calling City Hall during business hours at 781-396-5500. We are working on a plan to reopen for business as soon as possible with all health and safety guidelines in place for staff and members of the public.