Doctors warn of local impact from COVID-19 spikes in other states

BOSTON —

Doctors in Massachusetts are warning about the local impacts as other states across the country are seeing spikes in coronavirus cases.

Nearly two dozen states are seeing increases of COVID-19 cases. Massachusetts is not in that group -- but with travelers arriving from elsewhere, some experts say we should do more to keep it that way.

Dr. Jon Santiago said we're already seeing out-of-state cases affect the Bay State.

“This past weekend alone, we had two patients who had traveled from the south, came to Massachusetts after visiting loved ones or a family member and were COVID-19-positive,” he said.

Santiago is also a state lawmaker. On Monday he introduced a bill aimed at a preventing a second surge.

The bill includes mandating masks and enforcing two-week quarantines for travelers from states with high case numbers -- punishable with a fine.

New York announced a similar move Monday. The state now mandates visitors from hot spots provide contact information or face a fine.