New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will require visitors from Rhode Island to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, under a joint travel advisory to help curb the spread of coronavirus in the tri-state area.
The state was added to a list of 35 states and territories, including Puerto Rico, on Tuesday that must adhere to the travel restriction, after reporting close to 200 new cases of COVID-19 in last three days.
Meanwhile, Delaware and Washington, D.C., which had been added to the list last week, have been removed after their rates of infection declined.
Rhode Island now makes up a list of 35 states and territories – including Puerto Rico – of visitors that will be required to quarantine for 14 days after arriving in New Jersey, New York or Connecticut
The restrictions are placed on a state or region if the seven-day rolling average of positive tests exceeds 10 per cent, or if the number of positive cases exceeds 10 per 100,000 residents.
As of Tuesday, Rhode Island has recorded a total of 19,390 cases of coronavirus, and 1,011 deaths.
‘As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb around the country, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to slow the spread of transmission,’ New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement.
‘Our state’s restart and recovery process is dependent upon the commitment and collective effort of every New Jerseyan and visitor to our state.
‘Individuals traveling from these states must remain vigilant by proactively getting a COVID-19 test and self-quarantining to prevent additional COVID-19 transmission from spreading throughout New Jersey,’ he added.
It comes as the total number of confirmed cases in the country surpassed 4,700,000, with 155,402 deaths.
New York reopened outdoor seating during Phase 2 on June 22, but have run into issues of rowdy diners, tables being too close together, and crowds drinking in the streets outside bars
On Monday, New York governor Cuomo slammed the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the ‘worst government blunder in modern history’ and said states like Florida and Texas were foolish to follow the advice coming from the Trump administration.
At a press conference – where he called on New Yorkers to continue social distancing and wearing masks – he pointed to how the numbers had turned around in his state while others are growing elsewhere.
Experts predict there will be another 30,000 deaths in the US by the end of August. To date, more than 150,000 have died and there have been more than 4million cases.
Both Florida and Texas are seeing a rise in coronavirus cases and deaths, whereas New York’s numbers have been holding steady for several weeks now after slow but significant decline since May.
Since the start of summer, there have been large gatherings of people on lakes, in boats and on beaches, despite advice from the CDC to avoid crowds.
There has been no national mandate to wear masks – something Cuomo called for – and from the beginning, states have been tasked with making their own decisions when it comes to containing the virus.
Cuomo also claimed the rest of the country was ‘in denial’ about what happened in New York City, the epicenter of the virus in April, and did not believe it would impact them in the same way.
‘This was the worst government blunder in modern history. It was a mistake to deny the reality that happened in New York,’ he said.
On Twitter, he went on: ‘The national COVID response was a historic and colossal blunder by the federal government.
‘Six months and this virus is still out of control around the country. Six months wasted,’ he said.
It came as Dr Deborah Brix, one of the members of the White House coronavirus task force, said there was ‘extraordinary spread’ across the country.
Cuomo fumed that it was ‘entirely predictable’.
‘If the new phase is extensive spread, what was the old phase? That was limited phase what we went through.
‘It was entirely predictable. It’s exponential increase which is what a virus does. It is the exponential pyramid of viral spread. It was a mathematical equation,’ he said.
In the state of New York, there were three deaths on Sunday. No deaths were reported in New York City on Saturday.
At the peak of the pandemic, nearly 800 people were dying in the state every day.
New York’s coronavirus response has been far harsher than other states and Cuomo has been criticized for many components of it.
Recently, he has begun forcing bars to sell food to outdoor diners or risk being shut down.
His reasoning for it is that people who are looking to ‘party’ and gather in large groups will be deterred by having to order food.
Restaurants across New York City have responded by offering $1 menus.
As of Monday at 1pm New York City had more than 222,500 cases of Covid-19 and nearly 19,000 confirmed deaths with an additional 4,600 probable deaths. There were also 56,365 reported hospitalizations.