High-Infection State Travelers To NJ 'Must Quarantine:' Gov.

NEW JERSEY – Traveling from high-infection states to New Jersey, New York and Connecticut? You "must quarantine," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says.

Cuomo appeared with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Ct. Gov. Ned Lamont on Wednesday 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 Wednesday, Cuomo said, the states whose travelers are subjected to quarantine were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah.

That list could change. 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.

For New Jersey, however, Murphy later clarified: Quarantining will be voluntary. Read more: Here's What You'll Do If You're Traveling To NJ Amid Quarantine

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.

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

Cuomo, however, said each state will be responsible for their enforcement policies.

"We don't want to see it go up. A lot of people who come into this region could literally bring the infection with them," Cuomo said.

Constitutionally, Murphy said, "were not able to put up border checks around New Jersey" and physically usher people into quarantine. But he did say the advisory was "more than a recommendation."

Murphy said the state Health Department will be responsible for dealing with flagrant violations of the advisory, though it's still not specifically clear how the quarantine will be enforced.

Murphy said he's "asking" people from high-infection states to "do the right thing for themselves as well as their families and communities."

"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