Face masks and two-week quarantines for travelers entering Massachusetts from COVID-19 hot spots would be required under a bill filed at the State House on Tuesday.
The bill would also prioritize COVID-19 testing for vulnerable populations and mandate enforcement of workplace safety requirements designed to protect both workers and the public.
Both the face mask and quarantine requirements would be enforced with fines under the bill.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker has already ordered the wearing of masks and has advised visitors to Massachusetts to quarantine for two weeks, except for a handful of nearby states, but has repeatedly said he does not think the state has the power to restrict movement across its borders. Many restaurants and retail businesses say they routinely encounter irate customers who refuse to wear masks in their establishments.
One of the sponsors of the bill, state Sen. Harriet Chandler, D-Worcester, said with no vaccine yet available, the state needs to write the public health protocols into law.
“We have proven practices to curb the spread of viral infection: wearing face masks, ensuring widely available testing, finalizing formal workplace safety standards, and quarantining tourists coming from hotbed states,” Chandler said in a press release. “But they only work if we all participate.”
She urged lawmakers to pass the measure before the return of college students in the fall.
The legislature’s formal session ends July 31.
Massachusetts reported 10 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable deaths since the beginning of the pandemic to 8,340 in the state.
There were 303 newly confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, reported Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable cases to more than 112,000 in Massachusetts since the start of the pandemic.
There were 560 people reported hospitalized Tuesday because of COVID-19, while 93 were in intensive care units.
The number of confirmed and probable COVID-19 related deaths at long-term care homes rose to 5,282, more than 63 percent of all confirmed and probable deaths in Massachusetts attributed to the disease.
