SALT LAKE CITY — Governors from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut implemented a joint-state travel advisory focusing on states experiencing an increase in positive COVID-19 cases over the last week.
The advisory mandates anyone traveling from nine specified states must quarantine for 14 days. According to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the advisory goes into effect at midnight.
NY, NJ and CT will continually update and publish on their respective websites a list of states to which the new advisory applies.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 24, 2020
As of today, the list of states includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah & Washington. https://t.co/do5hy6UyUY
“The last thing we need to do right now is to subject our folks to another round and this virus is risky enough on it’s own,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
The states listed on the advisory were chosen based on positive test results either from a percentage from total tests or as a rate based on population.
#TravelAdvisory: Any Utahns planning to travel to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut in the coming days?
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) June 24, 2020
Beginning tonight, you'll be required to quarantine for 14 days. @fox13
Utah has been hovering above 10% when it comes to positive results on a rolling seven-day average.
"We respect the responsibility of local jurisdictions to make decisions that will protect the health of their residents,” said Utah Department of Health Director of Communications Tom Hudachko. “We encourage Utah residents to follow the recommendations of local public health authorities whether they are home or traveling to other states."
While there are only a few direct flights from Salt Lake City to either New York or New Jersey, there are plenty of options by using flight paths with layovers.
“We also have to make sure the virus doesn’t come in on a plane again,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. “It’s only for the simple reason that 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 could literally bring the infection with them.”
There is no projected end-date on the quarantine. In a news conference, Governor Cuomo outlined penalties for disobeying the quarantine which range from $2,000 to 10,000.