New York, New Jersey and Connecticut impose 14-day quarantine on travelers from coronavirus hotspot states

Travelers arriving to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from regions with spiking Covid-19 infections rates will be subject to a 14-day quarantine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday

Cuomo had previously said he was considering imposing a quarantine on travelers arriving in the state from places like Florida where coronavirus cases have spiked. 

“We worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down. We don’t want to see it go up because a lot of people come into this region and they can literally bring the infection with them,” Cuomo said at a press conference with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. “Because what happens in New York happens in New Jersey and happens in Connecticut.”

Cuomo said travelers coming from states with a high infection rate will be subject to the quarantine. The infection rate is based on the number of infections per 100,000 residents on a 7-day rolling average.

“As of today, the states that are above that level are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah, Texas,” he said. “That’s as of today. The states themselves can change as the infection rate changes and we will update daily what states are above that infection rate.”

New York City began its phase two reopening on Monday, which allowed for in-store retail, outdoor dining and hair salons and barbershops to reopen with modifications. On Tuesday, Cuomo said the city reported 1.2{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} of all tests conducted were positive. New York state reported a positivity rate of 1.1{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}.

Cuomo noted that coronavirus cases are rising across 27 states in the U.S. “Nationally, we should admit the reality. Denial is not a life strategy. It never is. Those 27 states are going up. More people are being infected and more lives will be lost,” he said.

In late March, as New York quickly became the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mandated through an executive order that travelers arriving in Florida from the New York tri-state area self-isolate for 14 days.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a similar executive order in late March mandating a 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the New York tri-state area.

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