NJ Expands Coronavirus Travel Quarantine To 35 States

NEW JERSEY — New Jersey added another state in August after adding three more states to its travel advisory in July, as well as Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, as the resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks continues across the country.

A total of 35 states are now included in the advisory, which "demands" travelers to quarantine for 14 days.

If you're going anywhere south, you may have to find a circuitous route in order to comply with the expanded quarantine order, since nearly every state from Florida all the way up to Delaware is on the list.

And you may have issues with traveling anywhere else in the country, since the list has expanded to 35 states (see list of states below).

Gov. Phil Murphy said the Rhode Island, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and Puerto Rico now meet the state's metrics to qualify for the advisory. Minnesota, which was previously removed from the list, is back on.

New Jersey has had some recent local outbreaks, and Murphy said some of them were connected to out-of-state travel as well as indoor parties. Read more: COVID Trouble: 3 NJ Gatherings, Dozens Of New Cases

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

Murphy said he will not follow New York's lead and consider fining people if they don't fill out paperwork after traveling from a high-risk state. He said New Jersey's travel advisory is voluntary, although he is "demanding" that people follow the quarantine rules.

“New Jersey’s restart and recovery process relies on our collective effort and commitment to beating COVID-19 and driving down rates of transmission across our state,” said Murphy. “Individuals traveling from these states must remain vigilant in their actions and proactively get a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine to prevent additional outbreaks from spreading throughout New Jersey.”

Here were the states identified on Aug. 4 (new additions are in bold):

• Alabama (added 6/24/20)
• Alaska (added 7/21/20)
• Arkansas (added 6/24/20)
• Arizona (added 6/24/20)
• California (added 6/30/20)
• Florida (added 6/24/20)
• Georgia (added 6/30/20)
• Iowa (added 6/30/20)
• Idaho (added 6/30/20)
• Illinois (added 7/28/20)
• Indiana (added 7/21/20)
• Kansas (added 7/7/20)
• Kentucky (added 7/28/20)
• Louisiana (added 6/30/20)
• Maryland (added 7/21/20)
• Minnesota (re-added 7/28/20)
• Mississippi (added 6/30/20)
• Missouri (added 7/21/20)
• Montana (added 7/21/20)
• Nebraska (added 7/21/20)
• Nevada (added 6/30/20)
• New Mexico (added 7/14/20)
• North Carolina (added 6/24/20)
• North Dakota (added 7/21/20)
• Ohio (added 7/14/20)
• Oklahoma (added 7/7/20)
• Puerto Rico (added 7/28/20)
• Rhode Island (added 8/4/20)
• South Carolina (added 6/24/20)
• Tennessee (added 6/30/20)
• Texas (added 6/24/20)
• Utah (added 6/24/20)
• Virginia (added 7/21/20)
• Washington (added 7/21/20)
• Wisconsin (added 7/14/20)

Here were the states identified at the end of July (new additions are in bold):

• Alaska
• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Illinois
  
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
  
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Minnesota
  
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Puerto Rico
  
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Travelers and residents who are returning from impacted states should self-quarantine at their home, hotel or other temporary lodging, Murphy said. That includes people who left New Jersey, visited one of the states and then returned.

People should leave the place of self-quarantine only to seek medical care/treatment or to obtain food and other essential items.

Travelers and residents returning from impacted states typically will not need to check in with public health officials, unless they are involved in contact tracing efforts or required to do so by their employer or any other federal, state or local law or order.

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