Virginia Added To NJ, NY, CT Quarantine Travel Advisory Lists

VIRGINIA — Virginia is among the 10 additional states added to travel advisory lists in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut on Tuesday due to the impact of the coronavirus. Anyone traveling from a U.S. state on the travel advisory lists is asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.

The 31 states on the list have "significant community spread of COVID-19," according to a news release from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office. The criteria for all three lists is a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

The Virginia Department of Health identified the statewide 7-day moving average of positive tests as 7.7 percent as of July 17. A rate per 100,000 is not available from VDH.

The 10 new states on the travel advisory lists are Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, and Washington; Minnesota has been removed from the lists. Other states on the lists are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.

Travelers and New Jersey residents coming from the impacted states are asked to self-quarantine at home, hotel or other temporary lodging and only leave to seek medical care, food or other essential items. In New York, quarantining residents are asked to stay in their location and get food delivered, among other requirements. Travelers and Connecticut residents arriving from impacted states are advised to stay home, separate themselves from others, and monitor their health.

There are exemptions in New Jersey for business travel and critical infrastructure, as well as people passing through for a limited time. New York has exemptions for people passing through for a short amount of time, as well as for essential workers and first responders. Out-of-state travelers from the impacted states are asked to complete New York's State Department of Health traveler form, while the survey in New Jersey is voluntary. Workers in critical infrastructure are exempted from the quarantine in Connecticut.

This article originally appeared on the Falls Church Patch