July 21, 2020
Travelers from 31 states experiencing surges in COVID-19 cases will now be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival to New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said Tuesday.
After being removed from the list last week, Delaware is again included in the travel advisory. Alaska, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington also have been added.
Minnesota, which joined the list last week, has now been removed.
When the travel advisory took effect in June, there were just nine states on the list, an indication of how the coronavirus has surged throughout much of the United States.
The other states included in the travel advisory are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.
The travel advisory applies to states where the positive COVID-19 test rate is higher than 10 people per 100,000 residents or states with a 10% or greater positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.
States are removed from the list once they are no longer exceeding those benchmarks. The list is updated weekly.
During the self-isolation period, people should remain in their homes, hotels or other places of lodging for 14 days. They should only leave to seek medical attention or obtain necessary items, such as food.
New Jersey residents returning home from COVID-19 hotspots also should follow the voluntary self-quarantine protocols.
"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," Murphy said.
"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."
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