NJ Expands Travel Quarantine To 8 More States Amid Coronavirus

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey expanded the travel quarantine to eight more states on Tuesday, doubling the amount now that the coronavirus outbreak continues to spike in areas other than the Garden State. The announcement was made as Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey has 461 additional coronavirus cases and 47 more deaths (you can watch it here, below).

The spikes in other states drove Murphy to "hit pause" on reopening New Jersey's indoor dining on Monday. Read more: Gov. Murphy Postpones NJ Indoor Dining Reopen Amid Coronavirus

The update also comes as the number of cases has risen to 171,667, and 13,181 confirmed deaths were reported. Read more: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

New Jersey added eight states Tuesday to its list of places where travelers should quarantine for two weeks (see full list below).

Murphy has insisted that the travel advisory is essentially voluntary, but the state Department of Health reserves the right to take action if "knucklehead" behavior – such as a lack of social distancing – takes place. It's not clear what that action would be.

The quarantine advisory also applies to those who leave New Jersey, visit a high-infection state and then return.

The state DOH said people who travel to New Jersey from California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee now meet the metrics to qualify for the state's travel advisory, which was implemented last week.

The New Jersey Department of Health and New York officials said the states all have significant community spread.

The quarantine applies to people who come from states that have a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or at least a 10 percent positive rate over a seven-day rolling average.

Murphy's announcement comes as the state continues to see a low infection rate. The number of positive COVID-19 tests on Tuesday remained around 1 percent.

Here is the full, updated list of states on the travel advisory:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Nevada
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah

Here are additional rules for the travel advisory:

• Travelers and those residents who are returning from impacted states should self-quarantine at their home, or a hotel or other temporary lodging.
• People should leave the place of self-quarantine only to seek medical care/treatment or to obtain food and other essential items. As one example, no one who has traveled to or from a state on the COVID-19 hotspot list should be participating in or attending an in-person or drive-in graduation ceremony.
• The self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected. Travelers and residents returning from impacted states typically will not need to check-in with public health officials, unless otherwise they are involved in contract tracing efforts or required to do so by their employer or any other federal, state or local law or order.
• The travel advisory does not apply to any person passing through designated states for a limited duration through the course of travel. Examples of such brief passage include but are not limited to: stopping at rest stops for vehicles, buses and/or trains or layovers for air travel, bus travel, or train travel.
• Travelers arriving from areas with increasing COVID-19 cases may wish to postpone their travel to the region if they are unwilling or unable to follow the self-quarantine advisory.
• If you are from an impacted state and get a diagnostic/virus test, you should still self-quarantine for 14 days. If you test negative, you are still advised to self-quarantine for 14 days because you remain in the incubation period.
• If you are positive, you should self-isolate for 10 days and at least three days (or 72 hours) after any fever is resolved and any other symptoms are significantly improved. You should only leave self-isolation to receive medical care and to obtain food or other essential items.

Here's some additional domestic travel guidance:

• The Center for Disease Control and Prevention advises not to travel if you are sick, or if you have been around someone with COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Do not travel with someone who is sick. If you're thinking about traveling, consult the CDC's guide to assess your risk and other considerations.

For international travel:

• The CDC recommends avoiding all non-essential international travel due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. If you traveled internationally in the last 14 days, the CDC recommends you stay home, monitor your health, and practice social distancing for 14 days after you return from travel.

For airports:

• Airports remain open and air travel continues. Travelers must wear face coverings at airport terminals and on public transportation.
• For flights, cancelations, or rerouting, contact your airline directly for the latest information.

These are the exemptions:

• People who are traveling to New Jersey from impacted states for business are exempted from the application of the travel advisory. This, for example, would include truckers driving from an impacted state to New Jersey, and any state, local and federal officials and employees traveling in their official capacities on government business.
• People traveling for business should still consider postponing travel to the extent possible. People are encouraged to self-monitor for symptoms upon return from any travel to an impacted state, and employers should consider screening employees for symptoms before permitting them to return to work.
• Migrant workers can continue to work with precautions. Critical infrastructure workers and employers should follow guidance from CDC, as well as state Department of Health, regarding strategies to limit disease spread.

Watch Murphy here:

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