City of Gloucester Urges Residents to Heed Massachusetts Travel Restrictions, Avoid Seasonal Trips

GLOUCESTER — While residents may be tempted to travel for leisure and recreational purposes, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Public Health Director Karin Carroll are urging the  community to follow statewide travel restrictions and act responsibly. 

“We understand some of our residents may be tempted to travel, especially those who are avid skiers, snowboarders and enjoy other seasonal activities,” Public Health Director Carroll said. “We advise strongly against traveling out of state for these reasons this winter, however. It simply isn’t safe for you, your family and friends, the communities you may visit or your neighbors here in Gloucester. We’re seeing a significant number of people test positive for COVID-19 in our community, and nationwide this pandemic remains a serious threat to everyone’s health.”

According to public health data released on Thursday, Jan. 21, the City’s designation remains at “Red,” indicating a “high risk” of spread in the community. The average daily incidence rate for the City of Gloucester is 75.7 per 100,000 residents, up from 70.9 last week.

Gloucester officials report that, as of Thursday, there were 143 active cases of COVID-19 in the community. There have been a total of 1,408 overall cases (1,334 confirmed and 74 probable) cases in Gloucester since the start of the pandemic.

“We need our entire community to continue to think critically about the steps they should be taking to stop the spread, and the sacrifices that unfortunately still need to be made while this pandemic continues,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “We deeply appreciate the community’s continued efforts to stop the spread here in our City, and hope that in the coming year we can make great strides against this virus, together.”

Gloucester officials strongly advise residents against traveling out of state for leisure and recreational activities at this time. Those who still elect to travel out of state are reminded they are required by the state’s travel order to complete the state’s travel form, linked here, and either quarantine for 10 days after arriving back in Massachusetts or produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of their re-entry. Residents can also get tested after returning to the state, but must begin their 10-day quarantine until they receive a negative test result. Those who fail to follow these expectations may be fined up to $500 per day by state officials if they remain in violation of them. 

Anyone who travels out of state is reminded to also follow any restrictions outlined by the territories they will be visiting. 

To review the perimeters of Massachusetts travel order, which does include specified exemptions for certain types of travel such as routine travel for work and school, click here. 

For the latest updates, visit the City of Gloucester’s website here, the Health Department’s Facebook Page @GloucesterMAHealthDepartment here and Mayor Romeo Theken’s Facebook Page @MayorSefatia here.           

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