Democrat & Chronicle: Five States, Including Arizona, Maryland and Delaware, Removed From NY/NJ/CT Quarantine Order
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Jon Campbell
Democrat & Chronicle
August 25, 2020
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The list of states subject to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut's COVID-19 travel order just got smaller.
Travelers from Arizona, Alaska, Delaware, Maryland and Montana will no longer be required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, paring back the list of affected states and territories to 31, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
The three most-populous states — California, Texas and Florida — remain on the quarantine list, while the territory of Guam was added for the first time Tuesday. The full list of states is below.
New York and the two neighboring states first implemented a joint travel advisory in late June as the coronavirus began to peak in other parts of the country after hammering the Northeast in March and April.
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In order to qualify for the quarantine list, a state must have more than 10 average daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the last week. Alternatively, a state makes the cut if 10% of its COVID-19 tests come back positive.
New York updates the list each Tuesday.
In a statement, Cuomo said New York residents made "enormous sacrifices" to get its COVID-19 numbers in check. The quarantine order, he said, helps make sure the state doesn't "give up an inch of that hard-earned progress."
"That's why these travel advisory precautions are so important — we don't want people who travel to states with high community spread to bring the virus back here," he said.
Tuesday's announcement came four days after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its recommendation that travelers quarantine for 14 days upon returning home from trips to high-COVID states or countries.
Instead, the CDC's updated guidance defers to states and localities, telling travelers to follow whatever travel restrictions or quarantine orders are put in place by their local or state government.
"State, local, and territorial governments may have travel restrictions in place, including testing requirements, stay-at-home orders, and quarantine requirements upon arrival," the CDC's Aug. 21 guidance says. "Follow state, local, and territorial travel restrictions."
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut all have different enforcement mechanisms for their joint travel advisory.
In New York, for example, those arriving by plane from a state on the quarantine list are required to fill out a form with their local contact information and information about their recent travels. Failure to complete the form can draw a $2,000 fine.
New York's rules include an exemption for essential workers traveling or returning to New York, though they are still required to stay out of public as much as possible.
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