New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut imposed a joint mandatory quarantine for out-of-state visitors traveling from regions with a high community spread of the coronavirus.
“People coming from states that have a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday alongside fellow Democrats, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
The advisory from three states, which at one point were epicenters for the coronavirus, is a reversal of an early policy put in place by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that required all visitors from the New York City area to self-isolate for two weeks. The policy takes effect on Thursday.
As cases and hospitalizations in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have been on a steady decline since May 27, other states have seen a sharp uptick in both cases and hospitalizations since late May that public health experts say is due to increased community transmission.
Cuomo attributed the outbreaks across the South and West to reopening too quickly in an effort to revive their economies after about eight weeks of lockdowns.
“The only way to get the economy back was to have a smart reopening plan,” Cuomo said. “And now, the proof is in the pudding, because we’re seeing it across the board.”
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.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 24, 2020
Cuomo’s announcement shows a 180-degree change in his outlook on regional travel advisories within the United States. During the height of the pandemic, Cuomo threatened to sue the state of Rhode Island after Gov. Gina Raimondo issued an executive order that mandated a 14-day quarantine for any visitors from New York. Raimondo reversed her executive order after Cuomo threatened to sue and made the travel advisory apply to all states, not just New York.
“We will not let New Yorkers be discriminated against. Rhode Island will no longer be stopping New Yorkers at their border. We thank Rhode Island for their cooperation in repealing this executive order,” Cuomo said at the time.
The governors said that each state will implement the travel advisory protocols in their own ways but did not explain further. Visitors from any state that has an infection rate above of more than 10 people per 100,000 be forced to self-isolate. Several states have reached that threshold, such as Arizona, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Texas.
In the U.S., 21 states have a test positivity rate above 5%. Arizona has the nation’s highest positivity rate at 22.1%, followed by South Carolina, Florida, and Texas, which all have positivity rates above 10%, according to data published by COVID Exit Strategy.
Gov. Phil Murphy said, “It’s a really smart, common-sense step, particularly as we, the three states, have broken the back of this virus.”
Cuomo also called the policy “common-sense,” adding that the tri-state area does not want to return to the “nightmare” of the pandemic in March and April.
New York still leads the nation in the total number of confirmed cases with 389,085. The state has suffered 31,232 coronavirus-related deaths.
