Baker Tests Negative After Visiting Florida

Gov. Charlie Baker has a virtual event planned Tuesday morning to make a development announcement with the mayor of Pittsfield, but the governor is no longer in quarantine after traveling back to Massachusetts from Florida on Monday.

Baker tested negative for COVID-19 after arriving back in the state following a weekend spent with his family in Florida due to a death in the family, according to his office. Baker was tested after returning to Massachusetts.

Massachusetts travel restrictions during the ongoing pandemic require anyone entering the state, including residents returning from an at-risk state, to quarantine for 10 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered within 72 hours of their arrival.

A test can also be taken after arrival in Massachusetts, but a traveler must begin to quarantine until a negative test result comes back, or face a fine of $500 a day.

Baker, according to aides, was also tested before he traveled to Florida, which remains on the list of higher-risk states. Over the weekend, Massachusetts dropped travel restrictions for anyone coming from Missouri, Oregon and Washington. Those states joined Hawaii and Puerto Rico as being considered low risk for travel by the state.