Six states removed from CT’s travel advisory list, Puerto Rico added
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HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) — The governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey adjusted the joint travel advisory on Tuesday, removing six states and adding Puerto Rico.
The states removed from the list of impacted areas include: California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, and Ohio.
Implemented on June 24 at 11:59 p.m., people traveling into those states from states with a high spread of COVID-19 must quarantine for 14 days.
As of Sept. 15, the following locations were listed in the state’s travel advisory:
Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
West Virginia
A constantly updated list can be found on the state’s website here.
Per Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order, state, federal and local lawmakers and officials coming out of Washington DC are exempt from the travel advisory, as long as their travel is considered government business.
Lamont said last month that travelers would be required to fill out an online form so the state can track where they are going to quarantine.
A fine of $1,000 may also be issued to those who violate the quarantine.
People traveling to New York from listed states already face a fine of $2,000 if they don’t comply. Connecticut is considering something similar.
Lamont has been working on the advisory with Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Phil Murphy of New Jersey.
“No one else had to accomplish as much as we had to accomplish in such a short period of time,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
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 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
On June 30, Lamont said “I can tell you flights are down and passengers are down since our quarantine was put in place, so there are fewer people coming from the most infected parts of the country to CT.”
Dr. Deidre Gifford, acting commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said the state would update the list of states, depending on COVID-19 case reports. If a state sees infection rates decline, it could be removed from the advisory.
Connecticut, on the other hand, has one of the lowest coronavirus rates in the nation.
“Working together as a region has proven to be immensely successful as our respective states are leading the country when it comes to our response with low infection and positivity rates relative to increased testing capacity,” Lamont said. “We have made difficult decisions throughout this pandemic, but we have proven to make many of the right decisions. This step to inform travelers form states with hot spots to self-isolate is meant to protect our residents and maintain our incredible public health progress.”
The state released a list of frequently-asked travel advisory questions along with their answers:
How is this going to be enforced? This is an advisory and we are strongly urging visitors to Connecticut to take this step. It will be up to individuals to abide by the advisory.
How are the impacted states chosen? The advisory applies to any person arriving from a state with a daily positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate for COVID-19 tests over a 7-day rolling average. The list of states is fluid and will be updated weekly onto this website. This travel advisory also applies to Connecticut residents who are returning from a visit to the impacted states.
How long is the quarantine? The advisory is for visitors to Connecticut from the impacted states to quarantine and self-monitor for 14-days. Those coming for shorter stays can quarantine and self-monitor for less than that if their stay is shorter.
If I am coming to Connecticut to a hotel or bed and breakfast, can I do the quarantine there? Yes. Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey are all asking hotels to communicate the 14-day quarantine to guests who have traveled from one of the impacted states.
Does the quarantine recommendation also extend to passengers flying to Connecticut on connecting flights that stop in high infection states before arriving in Connecticut? No. Quarantine does not apply to travelers who just have a layover in an impacted state.
If I live in Connecticut and have a household member or guest returning from an impacted state, do I and other household members who have not traveled to an impacted state also need to self quarantine? Out-of-state visitors from impacted states are encouraged to postpone travel. If not possible to delay travel, individuals are encouraged to self-quarantine in the home they are returning to in Connecticut. If not possible to self-quarantine from other household members, those other household members who did not travel from an impacted state are not required to self-quarantine.
Are there any exemptions for essential workers? Yes. Workers traveling from impacted states to Connecticut who work in critical infrastructure as designated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, including students in exempt health care professions, are exempted from the quarantine advisory. This includes any state, local, and federal officials and employees traveling in their official capacities on government business.
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