D.C. Added To New Jersey's Quarantine List

WASHINGTON, DC — The District of Columbia was among the latest additions to New Jersey's quarantine list as the resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks continues across the country. A total of 34 states are now included in the state's travel advisory, which orders travelers to quarantine for 14 days if they are visiting the Garden State.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the 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.

Nearly every state from Florida up to Delaware is on the list. 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.

The list has expanded to 34 states (see list of states below).

Here are the states, with new additions 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.

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."

The governor's update Tuesday came as Murphy announced 565 new coronavirus cases and 24 more confirmed deaths, saying New Jersey "is not out of the woods yet."

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.

See Also:

• DC Coronavirus Update: 1 New Death; 87 Additional Cases
• These Are The High-Risk States For DC's Self-Quarantine Order
• Coronavirus: DC Residents Must Self-Quarantine After Traveling
• DC Coronavirus Update: 1 New Death; 42 Additional Cases
• DC Mayor Mandates Masks For All District Residents In Public

— By Patch editors Tom Davis and Elizabeth Janney