New York Quarantine Rules, Most States on the List [UPDATE]
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut require travelers arriving from 38 states, plus Puerto Rico and Guam, to enter a two-week quarantine upon arrival. That continues a negative trend, with additional states being added and none removed (update to 10/20/2020).
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THIS POST UPDATES THE LIST OF STATES TO 10/20/2020
The United States has seen the Covid-19 pandemic spin out of control this summer. And now, we’re clearly in a second wave that could threaten the holiday season. As cases mount, so do restrictions on travel.
Several months ago, the three states of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut teamed up to implement a common set of travel restrictions. These quarantine rules would impact those arriving from any state with a Covid-19 rate above one of these thresholds (on a 7-day rolling average):
- A positive result in more than 10% of Covid-19 tests, or;
- The number of positive cases is greater than 10 per 100,000.
Beware the Second Wave
When the quarantine restrictions for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were first announced on June 24th, only eight states were included. Five weeks later, when even President Trump admits the pandemic will “get worse before it gets better,” the list grew to include at least 34 states! Things started to stabilize for a time, but as the U.S. and the world enter a second wave of the virus, the list is back up — now 38 states and 2 U.S. territories:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
What Are The Rules?
Those arriving in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut from any of the restricted states will be required to enter a 14-day quarantine. Those simply passing through a state (staying less than 24 hours) are exempt from these restrictions.
Each of the three states participating in this joint effort has its own enforcement policy. For example, anyone entering New York must fill out a Traveler Health Form. Violators who leave their arrival airport without completing the form will be subject to a $2000 fine. Connecticut also requires arrivals to fill out a Travel Health Form and will issue a $1000 fine for each violation of quarantine. New Jersey says “self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected.”
Final Thoughts
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have made no changes to their rules, but as the number of cases change each week, the states covered by those rules will go up or down. As of 10/20, New York’s quarantine rules impact arriving travelers from 38 states and 3 U.S. territories. While the situation continues to improve in the United States, there are still too many states where Covid-19 infection rates are high.
I recommend against planning travel to New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut at this time. Their list of restricted states is changing rapidly and is updated each Tuesday. While your state may not be on the list today, it could be tomorrow.
I can’t blame these states (or others) for their quarantine rules. They are simply trying to keep people safe from a virus that often has deadly consequences. New York was especially hard hit early on, and is now worried about a repeat.
I’ve previously argued that Covid-19 testing is preferable to quarantine, but it has its own set of problems. In any event, testing is not the decision these three states have made, and we have to live with the rules.