Three states issue new travel restrictions as COVID-19 cases rise
Government officials in three northeastern states have issued new travel restrictions in response to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
On June 24, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont announced a tri-state travel restriction set to go into effect at midnight tonight.
Per the travel advisory, “all individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 [must] quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state.”
The three state quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
States that currently meet that standard are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
Authorities say that they will use messaging on highways, airports, websites and social media across the three states to keep people informed about the travel advisory.
Cuomo says that each state will decide on how to enforce the travel restrictions. He said that New York could issue fines of up to $2000 for a first offense and put to $10,000 for subsequent offenses.
Lamont says that there are currently no plans to fine drivers who violate the restrictions.
The text of the travel advisory has yet to be released. None of the press materials released by the three states regarding the travel advisory mentioned any exemptions for the travel advisory, so it isn’t clear whether it will impact commercial vehicle traffic. Repeated calls to the offices of Governor Cuomo and Governor Lamont for clarification went unreturned.