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Ex. DUT-MA-005 Standing duty Primary source read

G.L. c. 111, s. 95

Powers and duties of boards in cases of infectious diseases

General Court (codified statute; powers exercised by municipal boards of health) · Massachusetts (State)

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The record

Jurisdiction
Massachusetts
Level
State
Authority
Massachusetts General Laws, Part I, Title XVI, Chapter 111
Issued
2026-09-28 Sept. 28, 2026
Effective
standing (read as 2026-09-28)
End
standing
In force
Standing since Sept. 28, 2026 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
Quarters
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
Limitation types
Business closureQuarantine and isolationStanding duty
Addressees
  • persons generally; owners or persons in control of premises; wage earners restrained by the board
Character
statutory duty
Collection
Standing duties: Massachusetts DUT-MA

Operative words

If a disease dangerous to the public health breaks out in a town... the board of health shall immediately provide such hospital or place of reception... otherwise the house or place in which he remains shall be considered as a hospital, and all persons residing in or in any way connected therewith shall be subject to the regulations of the board

Penalty

Enforced through the board's regulations (s. 31 fine) and the warrant power of s. 96 (removal by sheriff, constable or police under the board's direction)

What it required

On an outbreak of a dangerous disease the board of health acts immediately; an infected person may be removed, or the premises where the person remains are treated as a hospital and 'all persons residing in or in any way connected therewith shall be subject to the regulations of the board'; 'if necessary, persons in the neighborhood may be removed'; the section also provides wage compensation (three fourths of regular wages, capped) to a resident wage earner the board confines or keeps from his employment.

Retrieval note

G.L. c. 111, s. 96 (read on malegislature.gov; not saved) authorizes a magistrate's warrant directing the sheriff, a constable or a police officer, 'under the direction of the board of health, to remove any person infected with a disease dangerous to the public health or who is a carrier of the causative agent thereof, or to take control of convenient houses and lodgings.'.

A record of The COVID Project. The instrument's text is the source's; the summary fields are The COVID Project's reading of it. Not legal advice.