On the heels of Long Island entering the third phase of New York's economic recovery plan on Wednesday, effective at midnight, travelers arriving in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey from nine different states must quarantine for 14 days.
Those states are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington. More may get added to the list, which is determined by Covid-19 infections in the state from which a traveler departed before arriving here.
New York State Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, along with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, announced the order on Wednesday afternoon.
"In New York, we went from the highest number of cases to some of the lowest rates in the country — no one else had to bend the curve as much as we did — and now we have to make sure that the rate continues to drop in our entire region," Governor Cuomo said in a statement. "We've been working with our neighbors in New Jersey and Connecticut throughout this entire pandemic, and we're announcing a joint travel advisory that says people coming in from states with a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. We've worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down and we don't want to see it go up again because people are traveling into the state and bringing it with them."
The restrictions apply to people coming from states where the positive Covid-19 test rate is higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average, or a state with an infection rate of 10 percent or higher over a seven-day rolling average.
Earlier this week, Governor Cuomo said phase four of the NY Forward economic reopening plan, scheduled to start July 8, will be adjusted to exclude movie theaters, malls, and gyms. A spokesperson for Governor Cuomo told Newsday on Tuesday that phase four businesses are being divided into "sub-groups" that could reopen at different times.
"There are some things that don't fit neatly into a phase that are going to require further study and we're going through that right now," Richard Azzopardi, the spokesman, told Newsday.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone acknowledged the governor's past statement that the guidelines would be constantly reevaluated for prudent changes, but said he felt that malls and gyms could reopen safely with certain rules in place, such as limited capacity and additional cleaning practices.
"The state has indicated . . . they will continually review the guidance and they will be looking at the data," Mr. Bellone said Wednesday. "I'm interested to see what the phase three data looks like in some of the upstate counties. . . . We will immediately be shifting and turning to discussion of the different activities that are not yet open again, and how we can do that safely and get them moving."
Speaking on the governors' travel advisory, Mr. Bellone said "it is all about following the guidance and being safe and using common sense."
"This is something that the state believes makes sense, and it's going to help us keep our numbers down here and that's important," he said. Flattening the curve has "come at great cost. We want to make sure we are able to keep these numbers down as we reopen the economy."
On Tuesday, the Covid-19 numbers continued to remain relatively flat, with 45 new positive cases over the last 24-hour reporting period, bringing the total to 41,101. An additional 18,327 people have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies, meaning they had the virus but did not have diagnostic tests.
There was one fewer person in the hospitals over the last 24-hour period -- down to 88 -- even as overall hospital bed capacity dropped slightly. Intensive care unit occupancy decreased by two, down to 26, and both hospital metrics remain within the appropriate threshold for the economic reopening trends to continue. There were two more deaths from Covid-19, bringing that total to 1,972.
Now that phase three has begun on Long Island, indoor dining and personal care services can resume with limited capacity, and gatherings of up to 25 people are permitted.
Massage therapy, spas, nail salons, waxing, cosmetology services, tattoo and piercing parlors, and tanning salons can reopen, but the governor's plan mandates that capacity between workers and customers should not exceed 50 percent of the businesses' maximum occupancies. Six feet of separation must be maintained between customers, and must also be maintained between customers and employees whenever possible except during the services. Face coverings must still be worn and waiting rooms should be closed.