New Jersey, in conjunction with Connecticut and New York, has added three more states to its COVID-19 travel advisory list. But using the criteria set forth by tri-state officials, New Jersey now technically qualifies for being on the list itself.
Michigan, Ohio and Virginia were recently added to the list, a list that includes 38 states and territories. People who are coming to or traveling back to New Jersey from any state on that list must quarantine for 14 days.
“When we first started the quarantine, it was only eight states. Now it’s 38 – 64% of the entire population,” says Peter Trabucco, a travel, vacation and aviation writer.
Trabucco says that anyone who cannot quarantine for two weeks shouldn’t travel to places on the list. He says that while it may be frustrating, it is simply not safe. And it is only going to get worse as it gets closer to the holiday travel season.
“This has killed 215,000 people over the last eight or nine months. It’s a serious situation…Stress is high during the holidays as it is,” Trabucco says.
New Jersey’s self-quarantining advisory is considered “voluntary, but expected.”
With rising COVID-19 cases in the state, New Jersey now qualifies for its own travel advisory. State health officials say that the governor is not expected to implement any new statewide restriction. But they say that “all options remain on the table for more targeted restrictions at the local level.”
As for the 14 states that are not on the travel advisory list – some of them have restrictions for New Jersey residents. Health experts say that for the time being, it is best to stay closer to home and avoid traveling.