Lamont Decides Against Changing Travel Advisory Rules

Gov. Ned Lamont has decided against changing the state’s travel advisory rules for out-of-state travelers.

Lamont announced an agreement Oct. 20 with New York and New Jersey officials to keep travel open among the three states, where virus numbers are rising, while urging residents to avoid unnecessary trips to either state.

He said he is also contacting officials and Rhode Island and Massachusetts in an effort to reach similar travel agreements.

Since June, Connecticut has teamed with New York and New Jersey to issue regional travel advisories for travelers arriving from states where the virus is surging.

States are put on the travel advisory list if they have a daily positive COVID-19 test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a 10% higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.

Positivity Rate

Lamont was considering lowering the positivity rate requirement.

The advisory list changes weekly as virus rates rise and fall across the country.

Travelers arriving from an impacted state or territory must quarantine for 14 days or provide proof of a negative test, and must complete and submit a travel health form.

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Arriving travelers who don’t fill out the form or self-quarantine could face up to a $1,000 fine.

“We’re going to be strict about enforcing that, make sure they test, make sure they quarantine, and hold them accountable,” Lamont said.

Rising Numbers

With its rising numbers, Connecticut was in danger of violating its own advisory list.

But in a joint statement, Lamont, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said it doesn’t make sense to quarantine travelers from neighboring states.

“The travel advisory was designed to keep our respective states safe, with the understanding that we are a connected region, dependent on each other when it comes to commerce, education, and healthcare,” the governors said.

“We’re urging all our residents to avoid unnecessary or non-essential travel between states at this time, but we will not subject residents of our states to a quarantine if coming from a neighboring state.”

The three noted that their states have some of the nation’s lowest infection rates “because we have based our approaches to controlling the spread on science and data—and we will continue to do so.”