A quick trip to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut could be a lot less feasible for many Americans. People traveling to the tri-state area from 31 U.S. states are now instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced Tuesday.
The restrictions are part of the three states’ joint travel advisory, which is a response to the “increased rates of COVID-19 transmission in certain states,” New York state’s coronavirus website outlines. The governors first announced the advisory on June 24 and update the states required to quarantine each week, depending on their number of positive cases.
Travelers to New York from states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,00 citizens or a rate of testing positivity higher than 10% over a seven-day rolling average must quarantine, according to a June state Department of Health press release.
Ten states were added to the travel advisory on Tuesday, including Virginia, Washington and Alaska, with one — Minnesota — being removed, according to a press release from Cuomo’s office.
“As infection rates increase in 41 other states, our numbers continue to steadily decline, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our incremental, data-driven opening,” Cuomo said in the release. “Yesterday, we had our lowest death toll since the pandemic began – and with no fatalities in New York City. While today’s numbers are encouraging, we must remain vigilant.”
People are directed to self-quarantine for 14 days since they were last in contact with the listed state. The advisory does not apply to essential workers, according to the New York Department of Health press release.
To ensure travelers from the designated states comply with the restrictions, individuals are required to complete a State Department of Health traveler form when entering the state, according to New York’s coronavirus website.
The Empire State — once the epicenter of the coronavirus — has since then been largely successful in stemming the spread of the disease. Coronavirus hospitalizations recently fell to their lowest number since mid-March in the state.
The entire state is now in Phase 4 of reopening as of Monday — permitting low-risk outdoor pastimes and entertainment at 33% capacity, according to the governor. Media production can now take place and professional sports can be played, albeit without fans, under Phase 4, as well. New York City is operating under a modified version of Phase 4 that does not allow indoor dining or malls and cultural institutions to reopen.
While New York and much of the Northeast has seen a decrease in cases, dozens of other U.S. states are now experiencing a surge in the virus. Counties in California, Illinois, Arizona and Florida now have the highest number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases than any other country in the world, with 3,858,686 cases, according to Johns Hoprkins. There have been 141,426 deaths as a result of the virus in the U.S.
