In what can only be described as a sad state of the times, New Jersey is asking inbound travelers to self-quarantine from more states (31) than from states where it’s OK not to.
On Tuesday, state officials added 10 new states to list (Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington) while dropping one off (Minnesota).
The recommended 14-day self-quarantine is still voluntary, but the state is picking up its support of the programs, asking for passengers landing at airports to fill out documentation while increasing the public awareness campaign.
The travel advisory applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.
“It is critically important that all New Jerseyans remain committed to beating COVID-19 by remaining vigilant and continuing our collective efforts to reduce new cases and the rate of transmission throughout the state,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. “In order to prevent additional outbreaks across New Jersey and continue with our responsible restart and recovery process, I strongly encourage all individuals arriving from these hotspot states to proactively get a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine.”
The 31 states are all over the country. A breakdown:
- Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland;
- South: Alabama; Arkansas; Florida; Georgia; Louisiana; Mississippi; North Carolina; South Carolina; Tennessee; Virginia;
- Midwest/Southwest: Iowa; Indiana; Kansas; Missouri; North Dakota; Nebraska; New Mexico; Ohio; Oklahoma; Texas; Wisconsin;
- West: Alaska; Arizona; California; Montana; Nevada; Utah; Washington.
Travelers and those residents who are returning from impacted states should self-quarantine at their home, hotel or other temporary lodging. Individuals should leave the place of self-quarantine only to seek medical care/treatment or to obtain food and other essential items.
Other notes from Tuesday:
Health metrics
The state reported 424 new cases of COVID-19, increasing the overall total to 177,256. There also were 22 additional fatalities, increasing that total to 13,763.
Most important, the rate of transmission is under 1 at 0.9.
There were 833 people hospitalized, 169 of which were in critical care, 79 of which were on ventilators.
