Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is prohibiting almost all events that would bring 250 or more people together in the same space, effective immediately, in an effort to limit the spread of coronavirus.
Schools are not yet being instructed to shut down, the governor announced Friday afternoon.
Community, leisure and faith-based events — a broad set of categories including sports, fundraisers, concerts, conventions and weddings — are all covered by the ban on large gatherings.
The emergency order, issued Friday (PDF), does not apply to airports and other public travel, medical facilities, grocery stores and other retail locations, or standard government and office business.
The administration is not recommending schools close as of Friday, Baker said, and is instead urging local officials to make decisions based on their individual circumstances.
Some districts around the area have announced weeks-long shutdowns amid the COVID-19 outbreak, while classes are continuing at many schools.
Also, two laboratories on Thursday received federal approval to begin conducting COVID-19 tests, administration officials announced Friday. That will help expand testing capacity that so far has been limited to the state public health laboratory — which itself should see its ability double from 200 tests per day to 400 by early next week, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders — although officials could not immediately provide specific numbers.
The state Department of Public Health will begin posting weekly figures on how many COVID-19 tests it conducts on Wednesdays, when it has been releasing figures on individuals in quarantine. Sudders refused to provide any estimate Friday of how many tests have been done to this point.