Rhode Island was added to Connecticut’s COVID-19 travel advisory list Tuesday, becoming the first neighboring state to qualify, as well as the first state from the Northeast.
As Connecticut’s coronavirus numbers has remained low, Rhode Island has experienced a significant surge over the past month, jumping from about 40 new cases a day in early July to more than 100 a day last week.
Connecticut’s updated travel advisory list includes 34 states plus Puerto Rico, with Delaware and Washington D.C. having been removed since last week. Travelers who have spent more than 24 hours in a state on the list must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Connecticut under threat of a fine. Those who are unable to quarantine may present proof of a negative test instead.
Max Reiss, a spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont, said individuals who live in Rhode Island and work in Connecticut or vice versa will not be affected by the travel advisory unless they intend to cross state borders for more than 24 hours. Still, Reiss said the governor’s office would prefer as little travel between the states as possible.
“We’re strongly encouraging you not to go out to dinner,” Reiss said. “We’re also strongly encouraging any Connecticut resident who works in Rhode Island to work from home if possible. And if it’s not possible, what we’re urging them to do is to go to work, stay at work and go home.”
Joseph Wendelken, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Department of Public Health, said in an email that Rhode Island residents should take caution in their travel.
“There are COVID-19 risks associated with travel,” he said. “Avoiding frequent, non-essential travel between states is one way that someone can decrease their chances of being exposed to COVID-19. We have been reminding people throughout this response about how important it is to keep your groups consistent and small.”
Connecticut’s travel advisory list, implemented in conjunction with New York and New Jersey, has grown from eight states in mid-June to more than 30 in recent weeks. States are added when they experience an average of 10 new coronavirus cases for every 100,000 residents or when they record a positivity rate of 10% or higher.
Gov. Ned Lamont has said the list will continue to be governed by those metrics, without exceptions for neighboring states.
Even as COVID-19 caseloads have begun to plateau nationwide, numerous states continue to experience large numbers of positive tests, along with rising death tolls. Connecticut’s travel advisory still features the entire South as well as much of the West and Midwest regions.
The full list includes:
Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
New Mexico
Nevada
Ohio
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Alex Putterman can be reached at aputterman@courant.com.
