MA Seeing Higher COVID-19 Cases Than Other New England States

The Commonwealth has taken some aggressive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, but numbers show MA still has more new cases than other New England states.

According to a story reported on by WWLP/22 News, at the start of November, Massachusetts had the highest case numbers in the region, even though we had some of the strictest regulations.

In the Commonwealth, everyone above the age of 5 is required to wear a mask in public, indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people and a stay-at-home order is in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Both Rhode Island and Connecticut share many of those public health restrictions but they are seeing significantly lower case numbers. For example, Massachusetts saw 10,000 new cases in early November, versus Connecticut, which saw 7,000, and Rhode Island which saw 4,000.

Something Governor Charlie Baker attributes to a lack of following directions.

Baker said, "We don’t want to have to go back to the restrictions that we put in place last spring and we need everybody’s help to make sure that doesn’t happen."

Holiday travel is a huge concern for elected officials across New England, so if you do plan to travel this Thanksgiving here’s what you need to know:

All visitors entering Massachusetts, including returning residents, who do not meet an exemption, are required to:

Complete the Massachusetts Travel Form prior to arrival, unless you are visiting from a lower-risk state designated by the Department of Public Health.
Quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts.
If your COVID-19 test result has not been received prior to arrival, visitors, and residents must quarantine until they receive a negative test result.
Failure to comply may result in a $500 fine per day.

For more on the story, please visit WWLP's website here.