N.Y., N.J., Connecticut require people coming from high-infection states to self-isolate
The Associated Press · Posted: Jun 24, 2020
New York, Connecticut and New Jersey will require visitors from states with high infection rates to quarantine for 14 days, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.
“We now have to make sure the rates continue to drop,” Cuomo said. “We also have to make sure the virus doesn’t come on a plane again.”
Cuomo announced what was called a “travel advisory” at a briefing jointly via video feeds with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, both fellow Democrats.
The states’ health departments will provide details of how the rule will work, Murphy said.
The announcement comes as summer travel to the states’ beaches, parks and other attractions — not to mention New York City — would normally swing into high gear.
Visitors from states over a set infection rate will have to quarantine, Cuomo said. As of Wednesday, states over the threshold were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. on Tuesday reported 34,700 new cases of the virus. That’s more than on any single day since the outbreak began with the exception of April 9, when 34,800 cases were reported, and April 24, when a record 36,400 cases were reported.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, whose reporting lags other tallies, reported a lower figure, while the New York Times, which has been tracking cases daily, had a slightly higher figure.
New cases in the U.S. have been surging for more than a week, after they had been trending down for more than six weeks.
While early hot spots like New York and New Jersey have seen cases steadily decrease, the virus has been hitting the south and west. Several states on Tuesday set single-day records, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada and Texas.
As of Wednesday morning, there were more than 9.2 million reported coronavirus cases worldwide, with more than 477,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tracking tool. The U.S. accounted for more than 2.3 million of those cases, with more than 121,000 deaths.
According to the U.S-based university, the U.S. was trailed by:
- Brazil, at more than 1.1 million reported cases, with more than 52,000 reported deaths.
- Russia, at more than 606,000 reported cases, with more than 8,503 reported deaths.
- India, at more than 456,000 reported cases, with nearly 15,000 reported deaths.
Russia, which has faced questions about how it is tracking and reporting on COVID-19 cases, on Wednesday reported 7,176 new cases of the novel coronavirus, pushing its nationwide case total to 606,881, the world’s third-highest tally.
The country’s coronavirus crisis response centre said 154 people had died in the past 24 hours, bringing the official death toll to 8,513.
What’s happening with COVID-19 in Canada
As of 12:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada had 102,179 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 65,023 of the cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 8,517.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, on Tuesday reminded people on Twitter that case numbers are mounting worldwide, including large increases in the Americas.
Tam cautioned people to avoid and limit time in closed spaces with poor ventilation, crowded places and places where it’s hard to maintain physical distancing. She also urged people to keep up with hand hygiene, cough etiquette, wearing a face covering when distancing isn’t possible and to stay home when sick.
Canada’s Atlantic provinces announced Wednesday they will move forward with a so-called travel bubble as of July 3, allowing travellers in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to move between provinces without self-isolating.
Visitors from provinces and territories outside the region will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days and adhere to the local entry requirements in each of the four jurisdictions. However, once the self-isolation period has passed, these visitors will also be allowed to travel within the Atlantic region.
Mexico has posted another record one-day increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, with 6,288, while 793 more deaths have been reported.
The Health Department on Tuesday said Mexico now has seen 191,410 cases and 23,377 deaths from COVID-19. Officials acknowledge both are undercounts due to extremely low testing rates. Mexico has performed only about half a million tests, or about one for every 250 inhabitants.
Officials claim the pandemic has stabilized and may have even started a downward trend this week, but they have made that claim several times before.
Mexico has also had an extremely high rate of infections among health-care professionals. About 39,000 of the country’s confirmed cases are health-care workers, about 20 per cent of the total. There have been 584 deaths among doctors, nurses, technicians and hospital workers.
Dr. Mike Ryan, director of WHO’s emergencies program, expressed concerned about disease trends in the Americas on Wednesday, saying he expected that for many countries the pandemic has not peaked.
South Africa has recorded its highest daily death toll from the coronavirus: 111. More than 2,100 people have died in the country that makes up nearly one-third of the virus cases across Africa with more than 106,000.
South Africa on Wednesday will begin vaccinating people in the first vaccine trial for COVID-19 on the continent, while the World Health Organization chief joins the African Centers for Disease Control for a conference to discuss the race for a vaccine.
Africa now has nearly 325,000 virus cases as countries loosen restrictions under economic pressure from citizens who say they have to feed their families.
Shortages of testing materials and medical supplies remain a problem as Africa could become the world’s next hot spot.
Tokyo reported 55 new cases of the coronavirus on Wednesday, the largest number since early May, but officials say the jump does not mean an immediate return to business restrictions.
An official at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s infectious diseases department said testing that was previously limited to only those with symptoms or close contacts of confirmed patients has been expanded to included staff at nightclub establishments. Media reports said the new cases also included clusters at company offices, and experts say the increase could reflect an overall uptrend and should be monitored carefully.
Officials and experts agree aggressive testing is key to resuming social and economic activity.
Japan lifted a seven-week pandemic state of emergency in late May. It has had 18,024 cases and 963 deaths as of Tuesday.
India has recorded the highest spike of 15,968 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 456,183, with Mumbai and New Delhi as the worst-hit cities in the country.
The Health Ministry on Wednesday also reported a record 24-hour increase of 465 deaths due to COVID-19, driving fatalities to 14,476.
The ministry said the recovery rate was continuing to improve at 56.38 per cent. The actual numbers, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher due to a number of reasons, such as limited testing.
Maharashtra, New Delhi and Tamil Nadu are the worst-hit states, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of all cases in the country.
New Delhi is emerging as a cause of concern for the federal government and is being criticized for its poor contact tracing and a lack of hospital beds. With infections in New Delhi set to surge, the government estimates it will have nearly 550,000 cases by the end of July.
South Korea has reported 51 additional cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, a continuation of an upward trend in new infections.
The figures released Wednesday by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the country’s total to 12,535 with 281 deaths.
It says 10,930 of them have recovered, while 1,324 people remain in treatment for the COVID-19 illness.
South Korea has been reporting roughly 40 to 50 cases every day over the past two weeks amid increased public activity and eased attitudes on physical distancing. There has also been an uptick in imported cases.
The KCDC says 20 of the 51 newly reported cases came from overseas, while 31 patients were infected locally.
Australia has recorded its first death from COVID-19 in a month, increasing the national toll from the novel coronavirus to 103.
Authorities in Victoria state say a man in his 80s died overnight, lifting the state’s total to 20.
It comes as the state recorded a double-digit increase in cases for an eighth consecutive day, with 20 new cases confirmed on Wednesday. There have been more than 7,500 infections in Australia.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews on the weekend said large family gatherings had been the catalyst for the virus taking off again in some areas after lockdown rules were eased.
Nine of the state’s new cases on Wednesday were identified through routine testing, seven were linked to known outbreaks, one was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine and three cases remained under investigation.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said 241 cases in the state have been identified as community transmission, an increase of eight since Tuesday.
