New York and New Jersey have added a whopping ten new states to the the tri-state COVID-19 travel advisory as more areas across the U.S. continue to see an uptick in coronavirus cases.
The advisory requires travelers from certain states hit hard by COVID-19 to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the tri-state area.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo first announced the new additions to the growing list Tuesday, which now totals 31 states.
New states added Tuesday include Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington.
Minnesota, added just last week, has been removed from the advisory.
Enforcement will be difficult. Gov. Phily Murphy said in New Jersey, they're asking people to act responsibly.
"So far, so good," he said. "We have developed some technology for folks. There's a significant public relations campaign. We are the United States of America; we can't stop people at our borders. I never thought I'd say it, but I wouldn't mind if we had the ability to build a wall around our state or region right now. We can't."
States under the travel advisory must have an infection rate above 10 cases per 100,000 people, or if 10% of the total population tests positive. Both metrics will be monitored on a rolling seven-day average.
Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced stricter enforcement rules around the travel advisory in New York, stating visitors arriving in the state must provide contact information to local authorities. Those who do not risk facing a $2,000 fine or a court-ordered mandated 14-day quarantine.
As of July 21, there are 31 states that meet this concerning criteria:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Arizona
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Kansas
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
The news comes as Cuomo also announced there were just two COVID-related deaths reported Monday in New York.
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed a 14-day quarantine on people traveling to the tri-state area from states with a high transmission rate of coronavirus last week.
The advisory also applies to tri-state area residents who are traveling back to their home state from areas with a high rate of transmission.
The travel advisory comes as the tri-state region continues making strides in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The tri-state area was considered the epicenter of the country's coronavirus outbreak as the number of cases in March and April soared into the hundreds of thousands and the death toll continued to climb for weeks.