New state regulations intended to allow retailers to fulfill online orders while keeping their doors closed to the general public will also allow construction projects to resume in Newton, the city says.

Citing the new regulations, which went into effect yesterday and were the result of intensive lobbying from the Retailers Association of Massachusetts, Newton officials announced construction projects can resume if they comply with physical distancing and hygiene measures detailed in the state’s essential construction guidelines.

Today is the first day compliant projects will be allowed to resume, but contractors or owners must sign sign and send to Newton’s Inspectional Services Department a form that they acknowledge they understand and will follow Newton’s own construction site guidelines. The city plans to send inspectors to do unannounced visits of job sites to ensure compliance.

Key provisions of the city’s construction regulations include:

• Workers must wear face coverings indoors or outdoors whenever workers are unable to maintain a distance of less than 6 feet apart.
• Trades working on-site should be staggered to limit crowding.
• Hand-washing or sanitizing stations must be provided.
• A site supervisor must be named to enforce the regulations.

Construction bans remain in force in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville, although Cambridge officials on Monday announced the formation of an advisory council of developers, contractors and union groups to craft regulations that would allow building to resume in that city. Watertown earlier partially reversed its construction moratorium to allow housing construction, healthcare and infrastructure work to continue, aligning the city with state directives on what constitutes “essential” construction.

“The decision to pause construction in the city was made out of an abundance of caution. Our planning approach for the eventual resumption of work is focusing on creating procedures and phasing that will protect both construction workers and the public,” Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City Manager Louis A. DePasquale said in a joint statement.

Boston has issued an updated set of guidelines on its ban, allowing site preparation work to begin and work on state-defined “essential” projects to resume later this month.