ALBANY — New York is adding travelers from five states to its COVID-19 quarantine order, including its direct neighbors in New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo on Tuesday said travelers arriving from 43 states and territories now qualify for the 14-day self-quarantine requirement, including two states — New Jersey and Connecticut — that initially issued the order in conjunction with New York four months ago.
Technically speaking, that means people who recently spent time in the neighboring states are subject to the quarantine order if they intend to spend time in New York.
But Cuomo all but conceded New York won’t or can’t enforce the ban against its neighbors, saying he would instead make clear nonessential travel between the states should be avoided.
New York has been enforcing the quarantine requirement almost exclusively at airports. Since most travel between New York and its neighbors are done by car or public transit, enforcement is impractical, he said.
“There is no practical way to quarantine New York from New Jersey and Connecticut,” Cuomo said on a conference call with reporters. “There are just too many interchanges. There are too many interconnections.”
Quarantine was tri-state effort
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut first issued a joint travel advisory in late June as COVID-19 cases cooled in the Northeast and began to rise elsewhere in the country.
The joint advisory applies to any state that exceeds 10 average daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the previous week, or if 10% of COVID-19 cases come back positive over the same time period.
Typically, New York updates the list of affected states each Tuesday on behalf of the three states.
But on Tuesday, Cuomo’s announcement directly contradicted comments Monday by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who suggested his state would not be added to his neighboring states’ quarantine lists.
Lamont had said his office has been in discussion with New York and other neighboring states about changing the threshold for making the list and anticipated it taking effect soon, though he did suggest it wasn’t final.
“We’re not going to be going on any of their quarantine lists and we’ll work together to come up with a metric that we think is enforceable and realistic,” Lamont said at a news conference.
Lamont’s plan would have only applied to states that have 10 average daily cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate above 5%, rather than an either-or scenario.
Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey were among the 43 states and territories that averaged at least 10 daily coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over the past week. But they were all below the 5% testing threshold Lamont wanted to impose, meaning they would not have qualified.
Cuomo did not reveal the full list of 43 states and territories, though the full list is expected to be released Tuesday afternoon.
Last week, 38 states and territories qualified for the quarantine list, including large states like Florida and Texas.
The five additional states that qualified this week were Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Maryland, Arizona and New Jersey, according to a USA TODAY Network New York analysis of data collected by The COVID Tracking Project. Massachusetts, another of New York’s neighbors, narrowly avoided the mark.
Database:See how close your state is to coming off the NY, NJ, CT quarantine list
New York averaged 7.3 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week, the fifth-lowest number in the country. Its test positivity rate was slightly above 1%.
Cuomo’s announcement marked the first time any of New York’s neighbors qualified for the quarantine list, which raised questions about whether people who frequently cross the state border for work will be granted an exemption.
New Jersey, for example, allows workers from Delaware to travel to its state for work.
Cuomo did not say whether New York will change any of its existing rules. But the governor said closing New York from New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania would have a “disastrous effect on the economy,” which relies on thousands of workers who cross state lines to work, particularly in the tri-state area.
“So we’re going to be working with Connecticut and New Jersey to see how we can help them with their spikes and also talk to Connecticut and New Jersey about making it clear to the extent travel between the states is non-essential, it should be avoided,” Cuomo said.
Later in the call, Cuomo said the same issues apply to Pennsylvania.
More states qualify for quarantine list
New York’s enforcement of the measure has been almost exclusively at airports, where most out-of-state travelers are required to fill out a contact tracing form upon arrival under threat of a $2,000 fine.
Under New York’s current rules, travelers who pass through a state on the travel advisory list for less than 24 hours are exempt from the quarantine requirement, which accounts for flyovers and stops at rest areas when traveling on the Thruway.
The state also has an exemption for essential workers who travel to New York for work. Nonessential workers, meanwhile, have not been exempted, raising the question of what may happen to people who live in New York and work in a neighboring state or vice versa.
On Monday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said he had not yet spoken directly to Cuomo about how New York plans to handle the situation.
“My advice is to not travel, frankly,” Murphy said.
Cuomo said Tuesday he would soon speak with Murphy and Lamont.
“I’m going to be speaking to the governors today about how we can help them with their spikes,” Cuomo said.
More:NY, NJ, CT order out-of-state travelers to quarantine because of COVID-19
More:New York, New Jersey quarantine list grows to 38 states, territories after 3 more added
Includes reporting by The Associated Press.
Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.
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