With cases of COVID-19 on the rise in California, the state has landed back on New York’s travel advisory list, meaning anyone visiting New York will have to quarantine for two weeks.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the addition of California to the list, which now includes 45 states and territories, on Tuesday.
The extent of the list is an indication of how widespread outbreaks of the virus are across the U.S. It is determined by two static metrics: a case rate of 10 or more per 100,000 residents per day in the past week, or a test positivity rate of 10% or higher over the past seven days.
“We know COVID is spreading at increased rates in other states and New York State is not in a hermetically sealed bubble,” Cuomo said in a statement. “The numbers are a reminder that COVID is still here and continues to spread in communities across the state, particularly when people choose not to follow the safety protocols in place to control the virus.”
In California, average daily cases have increased by nearly 40% in the past two weeks, and while its positivity rate remains below many other states, at 3.2%, there were about 11.7 new cases per 100,000 residents per day in the past week, according to data compiled by this news organization.
California remained below the 10/100K threshold from Sept. 9 to Oct. 22, according to this news organization’s data. But last week, a backlog of tests in Los Angeles County and modest increases elsewhere pushed it over the limit.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked about implementing travel restrictions for those arriving in California, considering its relative success in containing the virus in comparison to other states.
“The answer is not yet. We always maintain an openness to those consideration but no, that’s not part of our current planning,” Newsom said, though he left open the possibility, “depending on what conditions exist and what conditions are introduced as it relates to this next wave of the pandemic.”
California was first added to the advisory list in June, when cases were spiking here and New York had squashed its initial outbreak, but it was removed around mid-September, and travelers from California faced no restrictions for about six weeks.
But now, with cases spiking nationwide, there are only 10 states to escape New York’s quarantine requirements: Hawaii, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington. And even in four of those states — Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania — nonessential travel is “highly discourage[d], to the extent practical.”
All U.S. travelers still face extensive travel restrictions abroad, including entry barred from Canada and the European Union.
