Masks Are Back Inside Salem Businesses: What You Need To Know

SALEM, MA —When the Salem Board of Health voted to reinstate an indoor mask mandate for all municipal buildings, schools and businesses earlier this month, the city had nearly 18 months of precedent to draw upon for what it should look like, but this time no state guidelines to default to after all statewide coronavirus-related business restrictions were lifted in May.

The mask requirement, which went into effect on Monday and is scheduled to last until Nov. 13, was approved as a way to help mitigate the spread of the delta variant amid an expected massive influx of Halloween-season tourists, while avoiding some of the harsh deterrents from last year when the city told tourists to simply "Stay Away."

"This is probably the least restrictive action they can take and not impact the businesses the way they were impacted last year," Salem Health Agent David Greenbaum told Patch on Thursday.

While the city chose not to expand the restrictions to include some of the more arduous protocols like physical distancing, capacity limits and partitions, the new mask mandate will affect some Salem businesses and arts productions in different ways.

In restaurants and bars, for instance, where for nearly three months patrons had been free to waltz up to the bar, order a beer and drink it on the spot if the place allowed, now they once again have to be seated to take off the mask and have a sip.

The rules are only for indoors, however, so you can still do all of those things at an outdoor beer garden, if the establishment allows.

Another group affected will be the performing arts where everyone must remain masked indoors regardless of distancing. Therefore, any actors in indoor stage productions or those performing or participating in any indoor Halloween-themed events will have to work the mask into their costume or routine.

This includes any indoor singing either on stage or in a bar or restaurant.

"The order and the mandate do not carve out any indoor exemptions beyond while you are eating and drinking while seated," Greenbaum confirmed.

Greenbaum admitted the reaction among the types of businesses most affected has been mixed, but that the city will try to help them get through the next three months the best it can with signage and a limited stock of disposable masks.

"We didn't really hear from a lot of businesses other than what we saw in the news reports or in the press," Greenbaum said. "We know some of them were not happy about it, or are not happy about it.

"For the most part, they understand the reasoning behind it."

Greenbaum said at the Board of Health meeting on Aug. 10 approving the reinstated indoor business mask mandate that he thought surrounding cities and towns would likely soon follow suit.

Which has not exactly happened.

"Not as far as businesses as of yet," Greenbaum allowed. "But many of them do require them in municipal buildings and now the state has gone with the mask mandate in schools."

Beverly, Danvers and Swampscott are among the towns requiring masks inside municipal buildings. The Peabody Board of Health this week issued a "strong recommendation" that masks be worn in city buildings, schools and indoor businesses, but is not "requiring" them for businesses at this time.

Boston is reinstating its indoor business mask mandate on Friday.

Greenbaum said reported violations of the renewed mask policy will be investigated and businesses will be "reminded" of what is intended to be a short-term city policy.

"We did get a lot of questions about it," Greenbaum said. "We've talked with everyone who contacted us and let them know how it will impact them."

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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