In try to salvage tourism season, state GOP launches plan to ease travel restrictions

File Photo / Maureen Milliken Visitors to Maine from five states are now exempt from quarantine requirements designed to prevent COVID-19 spread. Republican legislators want to expand the exemptions.

Write a Comment

By Staff

Republicans in the Maine Legislature are proposing a plan to ease travel restrictions on some visitors to the state, in hope of boosting tourism during the remainder of the critical summer season.

Under orders of Gov. Janet Mills designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, travelers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island are required to quarantine for 14 days after entering the state, or must have proof showing they’ve tested negative for the novel coronavirus within three day before visiting.

The restriction initially applied to all out-of-state visitors, but was eventually lifted for those from Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.

Republican leaders in the Statehouse will “immediately” introduce legislation to expand the exemptions to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, under a plan developed by a coalition of hospitality businesses, Work With ME, according to a news release Monday.

In addition to allowing Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents to enter Maine without restriction, the plan would exempt residents of other states where the seven-day positive test rate for COVID-19 is below 5%, a threshold set by the World Health Organization.

The plan would also increase the maximum size of public gatherings in Maine, currently set at 50 people under Mills’ orders, to 150.

Current state requirements for using protective face masks in public places and business settings wouldn't change under the plan.

Lawmakers said the proposed rules would be more in keeping with policies of other New England states, and would allow Maine businesses to draw customers from them. More tourists to Maine come from Massachusetts each year than any other state, according to the release.

“Without a chance at salvaging part of the tourism season, businesses and livelihoods are being destroyed,” said Senate Republican Leader Dana Dow, R-Lincoln. “This plan responsibly allows residents from throughout New England into Maine without restrictions, which is in line with what every other state in New England is already doing.

“All of the data we are seeing tells us that this is a move that can be done safely, and the tourism industry will have a fighting chance to finish out the season on an upswing.”

In response, Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement: “For the life of me, I cannot understand why Republicans care more about Massachusetts money than the life of a Maine person.

"What the Republicans unveiled today is not a set of recommendations to salvage our tourism industry. It is a Donald Trump-style assault on the very public health measures that have successfully protected Maine people. It amounts to a Republican invitation for a resurgence of the virus, which not only would sicken more people but would damage our economy for years to come.”

Another industry group, the Maine Hospitality & Tourism Alliance, in June also criticized the state quarantine and other travel restrictions. The group also proposed that Maine earmark $800 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to assist the hospitality and tourism industries.

Since the start of the pandemic in March, there have been 3,832 cases of COVID-19 in Maine, and 119 resulting deaths, according to data Monday from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The seven-day average rate for positive tests was 0.7% in Maine and 2.6% in Massachusetts, according to Covid Act Now, a national tracking organization working with Georgetown University and Stanford University.