Cuomo, other tri-state governors add 8 states to list of mandatory quarantine, bringing total to 16
Travelers coming from these 16 states must quarantine
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}People traveling to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from eight additional states will have to quarantine for 14 days upon entering, bringing the total number of states on the governors' "travel advisory" list to 16, officials said Tuesday.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced in a press release Tuesday morning that travelers coming from the following states must quarantine:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
Earlier in the day, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced plans to adopt the same mandate in a bid to keep the number of novel coronavirus cases in their respective states under control.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN
"As an increasing number of states around the country fight significant community spread, New York is taking action to maintain the precarious safety of its phased, data-driven reopening," Cuomo said in a statement provided with a statement. "We've set metrics for community spread just as we've set metrics for everything the state does to fight COVID-19, and eight more states have reached the level of spread required to qualify for New York's travel advisory."
Cuomo had said last week that he, along with the Connecticut and New Jersey governors, would implement a mandatory 14-day quarantine for any person traveling from states with high coronavirus infection rates.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CUOMO SUGGESTS PEOPLE CALL HEALTH DEPT ON THOSE DEFYING TRAVEL ADVISORY
The announcement came as summer travel to the states’ beaches, parks and other attractions — not to mention New York City — would normally swing into high gear.
It also marked a flip-flop in the COVID-19 battle since March, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both Republicans, separately issued orders requiring people flying in from the New York tri-state area, where cases were surging, to quarantine for 14 days.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Enforcement varies by state. The Cuomo administration said violators in New York will be subject to mandatory quarantine and face fines from $2,000 to $10,000. Violators could be discovered at business meetings or during a traffic stop, he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The quarantine applies to people coming from states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents on a seven-day average, or with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over seven days.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}As of Thursday, states over the threshold were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
Fox News' Kathleen Foster and Maria Paronich and The Associated Press contributed to this report.