New Jersey to offer survey to visitors from high-risk states
New Jersey. New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said airlines will notify passengers traveling to New Jersey about the survey at their point of departure, and again in flight.
| 24 Jul 2020 | 12:57
(AP) New Jersey will ask travelers coming from states with high rates of coronavirus infections to take an online survey beginning next week.
The action comes on the heels of the governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut creating a “quarantine list’’ of more than 20 states where infection rates are rising. The three states have asked travelers from those states to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said airlines will notify passengers traveling to New Jersey about the survey at their point of departure, and again in flight. The survey will collect information on travelers’ residence and destination, which will then be forwarded to the appropriate county health department. The county will contact the travelers, Persichilli said.
“Self-quarantine advisory is voluntary, but compliance is expected and is relying on the individual’s accountability,’’ she added.
The three states’ travel advisory applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positive rate over a seven-day rolling average. While Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has declined to support New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposition to fine travelers who don’t provide contact information to health officials, he took aim at Georgia, where the infection rate is rising, and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp last week sued the city of Atlanta to block it from enforcing a mask mandate and other rules related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If you don’t like our leadership here, why don’t you go down to Georgia and see how that feels?” Murphy said, calling the lawsuit “unfathomable.’’ “We have nothing but prayers and high aspirations for these other states to get a hold of this, because it’s not just killing people there, it’s killing people here,’’ he said. “We need leadership to be responsible and do the right thing.’’
Murphy announced 202 new reported cases and 20 new reported deaths on July 18, giving the state a total of 13,710 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, with roughly 2,000 more deaths considered probable. The numbers of patients hospitalized, in intensive care and on ventilators has continued to trend down recently, but Murphy said the state’s rate of transmission inched up, to 1.1, meaning each new case is leading to slightly more than one more positive case.
New Jersey adds 10 states to travelers’ self-quarantine list
(AP) New Jersey on July 21 added to a list of states where incoming travelers must self-quarantine upon arrival. The 10 states added -- Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington -- increased the total number to 31. Minnesota was removed from the list. New York and Connecticut have taken similar actions in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus from states where it is spiking. The advisory applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average. The previous week, New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said airlines will notify passengers traveling to New Jersey about the survey at their point of departure, and again in flight. The survey will collect information on travelers’ residence and destination, which will then be forwarded to the appropriate county health department. The county will contact the travelers, Persichilli said. New Jersey has confirmed nearly 14,000 deaths from COVID-19 with another 2,000 considered probable, but the state has seen a significant drop in the last several weeks in the number of positive cases, hospitalizations and patients requiring intensive care. For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness or death.
“Self-quarantine advisory is voluntary, but compliance is expected and is relying on the individual’s accountability.” --New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli