Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced on Thursday that he has signed an executive order strengthening the state’s travel advisory for anyone traveling into Connecticut from states with high infection and positivity rates for coronavirus.
There are a total of 31 states that meet the criteria and are included in Connecticut’s travel advisory. The criteria is a daily positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average. People from those states are directed to self-quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state.
“With infection rates out of control in much of the South, Midwest, and Southwest and many tourists coming to Connecticut for summer vacation, I have made the determination that we need an enforceable quarantine order to keep Connecticut residents as safe as possible,” Lamont said.
Bradley International Airport is the second-largest airport in New England with domestic flights regularly coming in from Georgia and Florida. The quarantine does not apply to anyone arriving in Connecticut from a connecting flight from an impacted state, so long as their state of origin is not subject to the quarantine order.
The 31 states are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North, Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Massachusetts is not on the list.
The order changes the travel advisory to mandatory and has been taken in conjunction with similar measures by the governors of New Jersey and New York. Under the new order, people from those states could receive a fine of up to $1,000.
“In taking this action, I am empowering the Department of Public Health to hold travelers accountable with significant fines for anyone not following the rules,” said Lamont. “While we do have a very low COVID-19 positivity rate in our state right now, that can change very rapidly and this is no time to relax about taking every precaution we can to slow down the spread of the virus.”
Travelers will now be required to complete a form upon entry into Connecticut stating their name, date of birth, state of origin, estimated length of stay and location while in Connecticut, as well as contact information.
Exemptions to the quarantine rule remain in place for essential workers on work-related travel.
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