MD Travelers No Longer Face Quarantine In 3 Northeastern States
ANNAPOLIS, MD — A recent lull in coronavirus infections removed Maryland from the quarantine order of three states on Tuesday. Travelers from Maryland heading to Connecticut, New Jersey, or New York no longer need to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. Maryland was previously on the list of restricted states since Sept. 8.
An influx of cases and placement on the travel mandate came a week after Gov. Larry Hogan said all Maryland jurisdictions can enter the third and final stage of coronavirus recovery. That means movie theaters and concert venues can reopen at a limited capacity, pending their county's transition into Stage 3. Restaurants can also increase their volume from 50 percent to 75 percent when their county permits.
Twenty of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions moved into the final phase on Sept. 4, allowing all their business to reopen. Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, Montgomery County and Prince George's County remain in Stage 2.
“I want to remind the people of Maryland that moving into Stage 3 does not mean that this crisis is behind us," Hogan said last week. "We must remain vigilant so we can keep Maryland open for business.”
The Quarantine Order
This was Maryland's second stint on the list, which was born on June 24. Travel from the state was also restricted from July 21 to Aug. 25.
Maryland joins California, Hawaii, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio as this week's drops from the travel order, which is updated each Tuesday around noon. Puerto Rico was the only place to join the regulation this week.
To land on the trio's coronavirus quarantine mandate, states must have either:
An average of more than 10 new cases-per-100,000 residents per day over a rolling seven days.
Or an average positivity rate of more than 10 percent over a rolling seven days.
Maryland's weekly average of 9.46 new coronavirus infections-per-100,000 people per day secured the state's removal from the travel advisory. As long as Maryland averages less than 604 coronavirus cases-per-day in a given week, it will remain off the list of troubled states.
The average number of coronavirus cases-per-day hit a recent low of 512 on Aug. 31. That translates to a case rate of 8.47 infections-per-day per 100,000 residents.
Those numbers shot up within a week. By Sept. 7, Maryland averaged 662 new coronavirus cases-per-day, giving the state a case rate of 10.95. Now, Maryland averages 572 new infections each day.
The case rate hit its ceiling of 18.03 on May 5 and eventually receded to its minimum of 5.6 on June 24.
That case rate took a steady hike in early July, eventually landing Maryland on the quarantine mandate for the first time. Health experts attribute this swell in infections to Independence Day parties.
Though cases eventually fell, officials worry that Labor Day gatherings may multiply cases once again. The holiday was on Sept. 7, so it is still too soon whether Maryland is clear of another post-holiday spike.
"If we stay vigilant together, the road ahead can be a lot smoother," Prince George's County Health Officer Dr. Ernest Carter said ahead of Labor Day. "If we don't wear masks, if we don't stay 6 feet apart and we are not smart about our personal gatherings this weekend, we might as well buckle up for another big surge."
Maryland added 599 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 117,245 infections. The state also reported 10 more coronavirus-related deaths Tuesday. The virus has killed 3,706 Marylanders.
The state's positivity rate has seen a uptick since it bottomed out at 3.08 percent on Aug. 21. On Sept. 6, the seven-day rolling average was 3.84 percent, which was the highest since Aug. 2's positivity rate of 4.02 percent.
Now, the average sits at 3.62 percent. The weekly positivity rate topped out at 26.88 percent on April 17.
Hospitalizations have trended downward since they hit a recent peak of 592 on Aug. 1. Tuesday's 371 hospitalizations are down from their overall peak of 1,711 on April 30.
Maryland has its own travel order. Hogan implemented the advisory on July 29, after spending months saying Maryland would not restrict travel from other states.
The mandate does not prohibit out of state visitation. The advisory instead discourages travel to states with a positivity rate greater than 10 percent.
Travelers coming from those states should immediately get a coronavirus test when they return to Maryland. These travelers should also quarantine until they receive a negative test result, the order says. These 11 states are currently on Maryland's quarantine and test mandate:
Alabama
Arizona
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nebraska
Nevada
South Carolina
Texas
More than 29.3 million people around the world have been infected by coronavirus. Global deaths from the virus total more than 930,000, according to Johns Hopkins University. In the United States, 6.5 million people have been infected, and more than 195,000 have died from coronavirus.
Connecticut has fewer cases than Maryland, with 54,895. The state most recently averaged 107.43 infections-per-day over the past week, leaving Connecticut with a new infection clip of 3.01 per 100,000 residents each day.
New Jersey had 197,404 cases, as of Saturday. The Garden State tallied 431.14 infections-per-day during the last week on record, giving New Jersey a case rate rate of about 4.85 new cases-per-day per 100,000 residents.
New York's 445,714 infections are the fourth most in the country. The Empire State counted 733.71 new cases-per-day last week. That's a case rate of 3.77.
Connecticut, New Jersey and New York all have case rates about half the size of Maryland's.
Residents can track which states are currently on the northeastern pact's quarantine list at this link. Visitors traveling through the states for less than 24 hours do not have to self-isolate, nor do essential workers.
The 14-day quarantine helps slow the spread of coronavirus from troubled states. Coronavirus has a two-week incubation period, meaning somebody might not show symptoms for the first 14 days they are sick. If somebody does not show symptoms after 14 days, they are significantly less likely to have coronavirus.
As of Tuesday, travelers from these 30 locations must quarantine for two weeks when traveling to Connecticut, New Jersey or New York:
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
RELATED:
MD Lands On Quarantine Order Again, Must Isolate In CT, NJ, NY
Movie Theaters, Concert Venues Can Reopen: Hogan's Plan Explained
Have a story idea? Please contact me at jacob.baumgart@patch.com with any pitches, tips or questions. Follow me on Twitter @JacobBaumgart and on Facebook @JacobBaumgartJournalist to stay up-to-date with the latest Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County news.
This article originally appeared on the Annapolis Patch
