Traveling to New York from South Carolina? You’ll now have to quarantine
Those traveling from South Carolina to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut will be asked to quarantine for up to two weeks upon their arrival.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a joint news conference with New Jersey and Connecticut governors, announced an advisory will be placed on anyone traveling from coronavirus hot spots, including South Carolina. New York was once the epicenter for COVID-19 cases, but has seen a significant downward trend in cases compared to Southern states over the last month.
Cuomo said this is a smart move to protect the area.
“It’s only for the simple reason that we worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down,” Cuomo said in Wednesday’s news conference. “We don’t want to see it go up because a lot of people come into this region and could literally bring this infection with them.”
He said New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are jointly issuing a travel advisory that will go into effect at midnight. The decision comes nearly three months after South Carolina, Florida and other states issued similar quarantine policies that included travel from the Tri-State area.
Cuomo said the advisory will apply to travelers from states that have identified 10 residents that have tested positive for COVID-19 for every 100,000 residents on a seven-day rolling average. Any state that has an infection rate above that would require a 14-day quarantine.
Currently, targeted states with high infection rates include, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Utah and Texas.
“We need to do things right inside the four walls of our respected states,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. “This is a smart thing to do. We have taken our three states through hell and back, and the last thing we need to do is subject our folks to another round in terms of the potential to flare back up.”
Those caught violating the order in New York could be subject to a $2,000-$10,000 fine, Cuomo said.
Horry County, which is home to Myrtle Beach, was labeled a hot spot for the virus by South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control about two weeks ago. As of Tuesday, Horry County now has more than 2,100 total coronavirus cases since the pandemic started in mid-March.
The Myrtle Beach area has recorded about 1,800 cases since the start of June. Additionally, United Airlines is suspending services to Myrtle Beach next month due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement from the company.
South Carolina’s total number of cases is 26,572 with 673 COVID-19 deaths.
State and local officials attribute the rise in cases to increased testing and reopening the area to tourism.
“That is just factually not true. The numbers are going up because people are getting sick.,” Cuomo said, adding that leaders in hot spots states are placing lives in jeopardy and hurting the economy. “Denial is not a life strategy, it never is.”
This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Traveling to New York from South Carolina? You’ll now have to quarantine."
