The Governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut jointly announced a quarantine plan on June 24 to help protect their states from other areas where surging cases/outbreaks of COVID-19 were detected. The travel advisory list has grown for seven straight weeks with the latest list issued yesterday, August 11th.
Currently, there are 31 states and two territories that meet the specified criteria for a travel advisory (they have either a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a testing positivity rate higher than 10%, each over a seven-day rolling average):
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Virgin Islands
Wisconsin
Note: Alaska, Ohio, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington were removed from the list.
As a reminder, under the 14-day quarantine travel advisory, individuals traveling to or returning from states with increasing rates of COVID-19 are advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. This includes travel by train, bus, car, plane and any other method of transportation.
Travelers and those residents who are returning from impacted states should self-quarantine at their home, hotel, or other temporary lodging. Individuals should leave the place of self-quarantine only to seek medical care/treatment or to obtain food and other essential items.
It is expected that individuals will follow the public health advisory to self-quarantine. The list of states will be updated on a rolling basis and is accessible HERE.
Naturally, these travel advisories and self-quarantine orders raise questions for employers, which are reprised in this prior NFC eAlert: HERE.
If you have any questions relating to this eAlert, please reach out to the NFC Attorney with whom you typically work, or call us directly. We are happy to assist with this or any COVID-19 related issue.