ALBANY — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are imposing quarantines on outside travelers from states with high coronavirus infection rates as the tristate region governors attempt to shield their recovery gains from outbreaks elsewhere.
Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York, Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced Wednesday that all travelers from states that meet specific health metrics must immediately enter a 14-day quarantine upon arrival in any of the three states.
The order marks a major reversal of roles from earlier in the pandemic, when Florida and other states moved to impose similar restrictions on the hard-hit New York region.
New York and New Jersey just a few months ago were the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S., recording tens of thousands of deaths. Now the two states, along with Connecticut, have kept infection rates low as they cautiously reopen some businesses. That's in comparison to more than 20 other states where infection rates continue to rise, the governors said.
“It’s only for the simple reason that we worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down,” Cuomo said in a New York City press conference where he was joined virtually by Lamont and Murphy. “We don’t want to see it go up, because a lot of people come into this region and they could literally bring the infection with them. It wouldn’t be malicious or malevolent, but it would still be real.”
The restrictions go into effect at 12 a.m. and will apply to states with infection rates that exceed 10 people per 100,000 on a seven-day rolling average, or if 10 percent of the total population tests positive on a seven-day rolling average. On Wednesday, that included Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas, Cuomo said.
Only a few states, including Maine and Rhode Island, have required out-of-state travelers to quarantine. More have asked, but not required, visitors to quarantine. And a few, like Florida, have tried to apply the requirement only to those coming from certain states.
Anyone found out of compliance will be subject to a judicial order and a mandatory quarantine, Cuomo said. Fines can range from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on whether it is the first offense and if harm is caused. Monitoring mechanisms aren’t entirely clear, but Cuomo said he believes the combination of an honors system and vigilant tristate residents will suffice.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday said tactics used to slow the spread of the coronavirus are falling short in his state and acknowledged that newly opened bars and restaurants could be contributing to community spread.
On Tuesday, he warned establishments to stop any "dance party USA" crowds or risk losing their liquor licenses. Several Florida counties have adopted mandatory face mask requirements for people in public buildings.
On Tuesday, the state reported 5,499 new cases, with an 18 percent positivity rate, according to the state Department of Health. In all, the state has reported more than 109,000 cases of Covid-19 and nearly 3,300 deaths as of Tuesday.
DeSantis spokesperson Meredith Beatrice had no comment on the quarantine. On Saturday, DeSantis fired back at Cuomo’s plan by bringing up reports of New York officials transferring Covid-19 patients to nursing homes.
“I think governors are going to do what they need to do,” DeSantis said during a Saturday news conference in Tallahassee. “I would just ask them if that's done, just please do not quarantine any Floridians in the nursing homes in New York.”
Arek Sarkissian contributed to this report.