New York, New Jersey, Connecticut issue COVID-19 travel advisory for southern states News
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New York, New Jersey, Connecticut issue COVID-19 travel advisory for southern states

The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issued a travel advisory on Wednesday that requires people arriving from states with high COVID-19 rates to quarantine for 14 days. This advisory comes days after southern and western states reported their highest number of cases since the pandemic began.

During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City was the epicenter, reporting the highest number of positive cases and deaths related to the virus. To prevent reversing the downward trend of cases in the metropolitan area, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut believe the advisory is necessary as interstate travel begins to resume at a more regular rate. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, “we have to make sure the virus doesn’t come in on a plane. We worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down, and we don’t want to see it go up.” In order to ensure that this advisory is strictly enforced, fines will be imposed against those who violate the quarantine. The initial violation of this advisory could result in a $2,000 fine, a second violation would incur a $ 5,000 fine and an individual who causes harm could face a $10,000 fine.

The advisory applies to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas and begins Wednesday night at midnight.

For more on COVID-19, see our special coverage.

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