New York, New Jersey, Connecticut impose 14-day quarantine on travelers from Texas, Florida, and other coronavirus-hit states in the US.
Travelers who will not follow the quarantine orders will face fines, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
Cuomo noted 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,” he noted.
Cuomo added that travelers coming from states with a high infection rate will have to undergo quarantine. The infection rate refers to the number of infections per 100,000 residents on a 7-day rolling average.
Meanwhile, people who do not voluntarily quarantine for 14 days will be fined and undergo a mandatory quarantine. He added the fines will be $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second and up to $10,000 if they harm others.
“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.”
Self-isolation
The governor mentioned that individuals will be trusted to undergo self-isolation. He noted that the penalties for noncompliance are high if violation occurs. He added that the Port Authority will make travel records accessible.
Cuomo explained that coronavirus cases are increasing 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.
Meanwhile, Texas witnessed an increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations since reopening. Gov. Greg Abbott noted that “tougher actions” would be critical if cases and hospitalizations accelerated into July. He asked residents to continue social distancing and wear a face mask when in public.
“Wearing a mask will help us to keep Texas open, because not taking action to slow the spread will cause Covid to spread even worse, risking people’s lives and ultimately leading to the closure of more businesses,” Abbott said.
Cuomo noted that more people will die if states that have reopened would not take action to prevent the rise of Covid-19 cases.
“More people will die, and it doesn’t have to be that way. Forget the politics, be smart, open the economy intelligently and save lives at the same time. That’s what we showed works in New York,” he said Friday.
Resurgence
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that adjustments on strategies are being made based on the data officials currently have. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that resurgence of the COVID-19 disease will likely continue.
“Our global connectedness means the risk of re-introduction and resurgence of the disease will continue,” said Ghebreyesus.
