After the recent resurgence of coronavirus cases in many states across the nation, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut issued a travel advisory Wednesday that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days.
What We Know:
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said the travel advisory applies to anyone coming from a state with a transmission rate above 10 per 100,000 people on a seven-day rolling average or 10 percent of the total population testing positive on a seven-day rolling average.
- “We have to make sure the virus doesn’t come in on a plane,” Cuomo said. “We worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down, and we don’t want to see it go up,” he added.
- Cuomo stated violating the quarantine could be subject to a judicial order and mandatory quarantine, and fines are $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation, and $10,000 if you cause harm.
I am announcing with @GovMurphy and @GovNedLamont a joint travel advisory. All individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID into NY, NJ, or CT must quarantine for 14 days.
This travel advisory is effective midnight tonight.
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 24, 2020
- The announcement is a 180-degree flip from just a few months ago, when the tri-state area, and New York City in particular, was the epicenter of the pandemic.
- In late March, President Donald Trump considered placing the three states under quarantine, Rhode Island police stopped vehicles with New York license plates, and Florida directed all travelers from the tri-state area to isolate or quarantine for two weeks.
Months of strict lockdown rules, widespread testing and imperfect attempts at contact tracing have brought cases under control in the tri-state area and the region. New cases are on the decline this past week compared to the week before in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.