The sun sets below the Manhattan Bridge on July 20, 2020 in New York City .
Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont added 10 more states to their travel restrictions list Tuesday, now requiring people from 31 states to self-quarantine for 14 days if they visit the area.
The three governors issued the domestic travel restrictions last month to keep travelers from so-called hot spots from carrying the virus back to the region. The travel advisory applies to anyone arriving from a state that has a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positive rate over a seven-day rolling average.
The order applies to both visitors to the region and residents of the three states returning home from one of the states on the watchlist. The newly added states are: Alaska, Indiana, Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington.
“As infection rates increase in 41 other states, our numbers continue to steadily decline, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers and our incremental, data-driven opening,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Yesterday, we had our lowest death toll since the pandemic began – and with no fatalities in New York City. While today’s numbers are encouraging, we must remain vigilant.”
Last week, Cuomo announced that the state would place “enforcement teams” at New York airports to ensure compliance with the travel advisory. All passengers from incoming flights to the state are required to fill out a traveler form from the state Department of Health, the governor said, adding that those who fail to complete the form will be subject to a $ 2,000 fine, could be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete mandatory quarantine. It’s unclear if New Jersey and Connecticut are pursuing the same enforcement strategies.
“New York’s success in fighting the COVID-19 virus is under two threats: lack of compliance and the virus coming to New York from other states with increasing infection rates,” Cuomo said at the time.
— CNBC’s Jasmine Kim and Noah Higgins-Dunn contributed to this report.