Legal Update
Jul 21, 2020
More Than Half of States Now Subject to Tri-State Travel Restrictions
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Seyfarth Synopsis: New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have updated the list of states subject to 14-day quarantine provisions, with more than half of the 50 states now covered.
In the latest update to the quarantine restrictions imposed by the governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in late June, travelers from a total of 31 states are now subject to a 14-day quarantine when they arrive in the Tri-State region.
As of this writing, the affected states are:
- Alaska
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Montana
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Specifically, since we last reported on the list of affected states, Alaska, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Virginia, and Washington have been added to the list, Minnesota has been removed, and Delaware returned to the list after being removed last week. The respective Departments of Health in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will continue to monitor national testing results and will issue revised lists as appropriate, though the pattern has been to update the lists every Tuesday thus far.
Additionally, as we noted in our first report, the prospects for enforcement continue to differ among the three states. In Connecticut, the Department of Health FAQs state that “travelers from impacted states are strongly urged to carefully follow the Travel Advisory. It will be up to individuals to abide by the advisory.” But media reports indicate that Governor Lamont said that travelers will be subject to a $1,000 fine if they do not comply with the quarantine or complete the state’s required form.
In New Jersey, the FAQs continue to advise that “The self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected,” and Governor Murphy stated, “I strongly encourage all individuals arriving from these hotspot states to proactively get a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine.”
New York retains the strictest approach, with potential fines of $2,000 for not filling out the required form at the airport and $10,000 for failure to comply with the mandatory quarantine. For more information, see the state’s formal announcement of the enforcement effort here.
Impacted employers should reach out to the authors of this Legal Update or their Seyfarth contact to discuss implementation of this advisory in the workplace. To stay up-to-date on COVID-19 developments, click here to sign up for our daily digest.
