Coronavirus USA: travelers arriving in NY and NJ face 14-day quarantine
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are to impose a 14-day quarantine to prevent a second surge in cases as Covid-19 spikes are reported in several US states.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have imposed a 14-day quarantine rule in a bid to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections being imported from other states as the number of reported Covid-19 cases spikes across the USA. More than 26 states have seen increases in the number of infections since the US started to reopen in line with Donald Trump’s desire to kick-start the national economy. However, experts fear that the decision taken by states such as Florida, Texas and California to open the doors of commerce again has been taken prematurely as cases have jumped dramatically over the past week.
Florida saw a record increase on Wednesday of over 5,500 new cases. On Tuesday, Arizona, California, Mississippi and Nevada had record rises. Texas set a record on Monday. The surge in cases nationwide on Tuesday was the highest since a record of 36,426 new infections on April 24.
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, once at the epicenter of the US coronavirus outbreak, made the announcement on Wednesday that visitors from states with high infection rates must self-quarantine for 14 days on arrival. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo added that the quarantine will also apply to residents of the tri-state area who have visited high-risk states and are returning home.
For now, those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Utah, Cuomo told reporters.
New York sees lowest case number since March
Cuomo said on Thursday that his state reached a new milestone as the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 fell to 996, the first time since March 18 that the number was below 1,000.
"Together we bent the curve," he said on Twitter. "And we aren’t stopping now."
The number of daily deaths in New York also has been in a long-term decline, dropping to 17 on Wednesday from a high of more than 1,000, Cuomo said earlier on CNN.
New Jersey Governor Murphy: "This is a smart thing to do"
"This is a smart thing to do," New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said via video at a joint news conference in New York City. "We have taken our people, the three of us from these three states, through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do right now is subject our folks to another round."
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday acknowledged before the governors' announcement that "hot spot spikes" were emerging as people return to work and gather in social settings but told reporters "that nobody is talking ... about going into another economic lockdown."