Here's What You'll Do If You're Traveling To NJ Amid Quarantine

NEW JERSEY – The so-called "quarantine order" for anyone coming to New Jersey isn't quite that. But New Jersey officials on Thursday outlined a list of what could be considered "strong recommendations" for anyone traveling to the Garden State.

And the same recommendations apply to people who leave the state, travel to a high-infection region and then return – even if you're a resident.

The clarification came a day after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy appeared with NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Ct. Gov. Ned Lamont in announcing "a joint travel advisory" for people coming in from states with a high infection rate.

Cuomo said those travelers "must quarantine for 14 days" and that the advisory goes into effect at midnight.

As of Thursday, Cuomo said, the states whose travelers are subjected to quarantine were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

But Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli and Murphy clarified that advisory during a Thursday news conference, saying the advisory idea may be "uniform" with New York and Connecticut, but the enforcement has been left up to the individual states.

Here is the advisory:

• Travelers to New Jersey are being asked to voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days.
• The advisory applies to New Jersey residents who left the state and visited the high-infection areas.
• Workers in critical infrastructure or essential services are exempted. That would include truckers and other workers in transportation industry – and it also apparently includes President Trump, who is expected to visit his Bedminster golf club this weekend. Read more: Murphy: Trump Does Not Need To Quarantine For Bedminster Visit
• The list of high-infectuon states is fluid and will be updated weekly.
• Anyone arriving to New Jersey from these states should get tested.
• Once they get tested, they should self-quarantine until they get the test results.
• If they test positive, they should self-isolate for 10 days and for at least 3 days after any fever is resolved
• If you need medical care, go to a medical care provider and leave the quarantine.

Murphy did say the state Health Department will be responsible for dealing with flagrant violations of the advisory, though it's not specifically clear what that means.

"People have been doing the right thing and we need them to continue to do the right thing," Murphy said.

If anyone has any question as to whether they should quarantine, Murphy said, "ask yourself: Have I been at risk? Have I been in a packed bar in another state?"

This quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

"Any state that goes over the infection rate, they will be subjected to that quarantine," Cuomo said.

The tri-state measure will focus on personal responsibility using uniform parameters and messaging on highways, airports, websites and social media across the three states, officials said.

The three states will also ask hotels to communicate the 14-day quarantine to guests who have traveled from one of the impacted states.

"This is a smart thing to do," Murphy said. "We have taken our people, these three states, through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do is to subject our folks to another round."

A team of researchers and epidemiologists says New Jersey and New York are among only three states that are on track to contain COVID-19. Read more Gov. Murphy: NJ 'On Track' To Contain Coronavirus; Here's Why

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