NJ COVID self-quarantine advisory adds 3, drops 5 locales

On: Hawaii, South Dakota, Virgin Islands

Off: Alaska, Ohio, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington

Daniel J. Munoz//August 11, 2020//

Listen to this article

New Jersey added two states and a United States territory – and took off five other states – to its quarantine advisory list where COVID-19 hotspots are raging, as the Murphy administration works to contain a now-slowing outbreak of the virus.

On Tuesday, Hawaii, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands were added while Alaska, Ohio, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington were removed.

The list now stands at 31 states, along with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, from which travelers coming into New Jersey, New York and Connecticut should self-quarantine for 14-days.

All three states jointly announced the quarantine list in late June as they aimed to stave off a nationwide rebound across the nation, after they were among the hardest hit by the pandemic in March and April.

As of Tuesday, the self-quarantine advisory extends to travelers from:

Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, the Virgin Islands and Wisconsin

The self-quarantine applies to any state with a positive test rate of 10 per 100,000 residents or a positivity rate higher than 10 percent, both over a seven-day rolling average.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to climb around the country, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to slow the spread of transmission,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in an Aug. 4 statement.

“Individuals traveling from these states must remain vigilant by proactively getting a COVID-19 test and self-quarantining to prevent additional COVID-19 transmission from spreading throughout New Jersey,” he said.

Compliance with the self-quarantine has been lackluster in New Jersey, according to state health officials. At New Jersey’s airports, primarily Newark Liberty International Airport, travelers from these “COVID-19 hotspot” states are expected to hand over contact information to local health officials who might follow up with them in an effort to prevent outbreaks coming in from over state lines. But, only between 5 and 10 percent of air travelers – or 1,000 surveys daily – have actually complied, according to State Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli

In New York, failure to provide that info could yield fines up to $2,000, but Murphy has declined to mandate enforcement.

New Jersey’s transmission rate of COVID-19 – or how quickly the virus spreads – plummeted to 0.98 on Monday, from 1.48 a week ago, which effectively means the virus is no longer spreading.

“Until we begin to see the numbers of cases decrease – not just for one day, but over at least a seven-day trend – and our rate of transmission drop appreciably over a sustained period of time, these restrictions will remain in place,” the governor warned last week.