By Anna Gronewold 09/15/2020 03:22 PM EDT
Travelers from California and five other states will no longer have to quarantine upon arriving in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to the latest list released Tuesday.
For the next week, at least, the tri-state travel advisory includes 30 states and territories. In addition to California, the country’s most populous state, Maryland, Ohio, Nevada, Hawaii, Minnesota and the Northern Mariana Islands have been removed from the quarantine list. Puerto Rico was re-added after being removed last week.
Background: California has been on the list since June 30, shortly after governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut announced the travel quarantine. Its cases were just beginning to resurge after the state’s rapid reopening. But this week, the average number of California’s daily Covid-19 cases fell below 10 per 100,000 residents, the cut off for qualification for a state or U.S. territory.
To comply with the advisory, travelers and residents returning from the designated jurisdictions are supposed to self-quarantine in their home, a hotel or other temporary lodgings for 14 days, with limited exceptions. However, enforcement is difficult and compliance is largely self-policed.
What’s next: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo applauded the progress being made around the country, but urged the state and country to remain vigilant.
“When other states and territories make progress fighting COVID-19, that’s good for New York and while I am glad to see areas removed from the travel advisory list, it still remains far too long,” Cuomo said in a release. “Make no mistake: We must continue to be New York Tough and stay smart. Wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing is what tamed this beast in New York and we must keep it up.”
