State Says Visitors from COVID Hot Spots Must Self-Quarantine or Face Fines

Americans essentially lost the spring of 2020 due to coronavirus, and they seem hellbent on not losing the summer as well.

While the weather in much of the United States was absolutely perfect for boozy brunches, little league baseball, and outdoor festivals, we could have none of it.  That’s because we were socially distancing ourselves throughout nearly the entire spring season, from St. Patrick’s Day to Memorial Day and beyond.  Not only was this a grueling slog of boredom, but it brought with it an unprecedented economic downturn on account of the massive amount of industries that were affected by the need to remain 6 feet away from one another.

Now, as several states began to reopen their economies, albeit slowly, cases of COVID-19 are on the rise again, and those locales who have been trending in the direction of fewer cases are taking aim at those who are not.

The state of New York announced Wednesday it will begin requiring travelers from eight states where the number of coronavirus cases is surging to quarantine for 14 days. The new measure singles out visitors and New York residents arriving from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah. Neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut are suggesting a quarantine for people who are arriving from the hard-hit states, but acknowledged they do not have an enforcement mechanism to compel compliance. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a failure to quarantine is punishable by fines that could run into the thousands of dollars.

The move comes as the United States recorded its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases with 36,880 new cases nationwide Wednesday. Cases of the virus are now rising in 20 states; four states on New York’s quarantine list recorded their single-day highs in new cases: Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas. The New York quarantine requirement applies to states that are recording positive coronavirus tests at a rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, either in a single day or over a seven-day rolling average. New York is not the only state to suggest travelers quarantine, but most have so far not singled out certain states for extra screening; only several states—Maine, Rhode Island, and Hawaii—have made quarantining mandatory upon arrival from out of state.

Several states have also began considering the mandating of face masks in public in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.