Photos: The Day Coronavirus Changed Massachusetts

WORCESTER, MA — Olga Campbell was sitting in the corner of Patsie Duggans bar in Worcester's Kelley Square on Tuesday afternoon trying to sell a variety of hand-knitted Irish scarves and hats. It should've been the perfect place: an Irish bar on St. Patrick's Day in a neighborhood full of nightlife.

But Tuesday was no normal day. It marked the beginning of a four-week ban on dining and drinking in Massachusetts due to the growing new coronavirus outbreak. Meanwhile, town and city halls were closing across the state. Police departments closed their lobbies to keep officers healthy. And drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites began popping up in local towns.

It was also the day the state's number of COVID-19 cases grew to 218, including the fourth and third cases in Framingham and Worcester, respectively.

Campbell, who works for Worcester Public Schools, hadn't sold any scarves as of about 2:30 p.m. In fact, she and a waitress were the only ones inside Patsie Duggans. In 2019, Campbell sold more than 60 knitted items on St. Patrick's Day. In 2020, she hopes to sell at least one.

Here's a look at how Campbell and others entered a new social reality on Tuesday.

Olga Campbell was working on a new scarf while trying to sell an assortment of scarves and hats at Patsie Duggans in Kelley Square.

The bar at Patsie Duggans can't be used on St. Patrick's Day this year due to Gov. Charlie Baker's ban on dining and drinking.

At Lost Shoe Brewing in Marlborough, co-owner Melynda Gallagher was selling coffee and cans of beer. Lost Shoe opens each morning at 7 a.m. to sell coffee, and is making a push to sell more canned beer. Gallagher hopes to start selling beer online that customers can have delivered to their car right outside the brewery door.

A sign on the door at Lost Shoe reminding customers that the brewery and coffee house is still open for takeout orders.

Nearby at the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough, many stores were closed, and there were barely any shoppers. The mall has postponed the Easter Bunny this year.

A Solomon Pond Mall custodian chats with another mall employee from the second level.

An empty Solomon Pond Mall at around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon. Stores like Hollister, Express, and Victoria's Secret were closed.

More than two dozen stores at the Natick Mall were closed on Tuesday, including the Apple Store. The company has closed retail stores across the country over COVID-19.

One local store was ramping up business. At the CVS along Route 9 in Shrewsbury, crews were busy setting up a large tent to handle drive-thru COVID-19 testing. The facility stretched the length of the parking lot and featured multiple portable toilets.

Another big change on Tuesday came when town and city halls across the state closed to the public, including in Wayland, Framingham, and Marlborough. At Worcester City Hall, signs warned visitors not to shake hands. Worcester City Hall will close to the public on March 18.

Outside Framingham's Memorial Building, signs that read "Closed to the public" were posted at all entrances.

Municipal governments were still running, although major meetings were being conducted remotely without the public present. A bottle of hand sanitizer was stationed at Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty's desk ahead of Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Another change that happened on Tuesday was a reduction in MBTA service. The usually jammed parking lot at the Framingham commuter rail station was nearly empty at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday as trains run on a Saturday schedule.

Near the Framingham commuter rail station, a sign on the window of the Pho Dakao Vietnamese restaurant announced that the restaurant would shut down "until further notice" due to COVID-19.

Other businesses were adjusting. The Ken's Steakhouse along Route 9 in Framingham put up new signs this week advertising its take-out service. Gov. Baker's order allows any restaurant to sell takeout.

Taqueria Mexico owner Carlos Olmedo is concerned about the changes that started Tuesday. He offers takeout and delivery by Door Dash from his downtown Framingham restaurant, but things were very slow on Tuesday, he said.

"We're going to try it out and see," he said of staying in business through the COVID-19 slowdown.

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