“We worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “We don’t want to see it go up because a lot of people come into this region and they can literally bring the infection with them.”
As coronavirus outbreaks surge in several states across the country, public officials in the New York tri-state region — once the epicenter of the U. S. outbreak — are now imposing a 14-day quarantine on travelers coming from several hot spots in the U. S.
The virus hit the tri-state region hard in March and April, when New York state was reporting around 10,000 new cases every day. At the peak of the outbreak in the northeast, Florida, Texas and other states issued mandatory quarantine orders for anyone traveling from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut in an attempt to prevent outbreaks in their states.
But after suffering through a severe economic shutdown and ramping up testing and contact tracing to isolate new outbreaks, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have driven down new cases to a few hundred per day. As new cases have dropped in the Northeast, the virus has spread across new communities mostly across the American South and West, sparking fresh outbreaks that appear to be picking up speed.
“We worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “We don’t want to see it go up because a lot of people come into this region and they can literally bring the infection with them.”
The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut said they have issued the mandatory quarantine orders for these eightstates specifically because they have an average of more than 10 positive tests per 100,000 residents over the past seven days or because an average of more than 10% of all tests have come back positive over the past seven days.
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will continue to update the list of states the order affects on their respective websites, Cuomo’s office said.
Here’s a look at how the coronavirus outbreaks are evolving in the eight states currently subject to the tri-state region’s travel order.
Alabama Public Health reported 954 new cases on Wednesday alone, about 19.5 new cases per 100,000 residents, marking the state’s third highest single-day increase in cases. The state has averaged more than 597 new cases per day over the past seven days, down more than 23% compared with the 7-day average a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
As of Wednesday, the state confirmed 31,624 coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 644 cases per 100,000 residents, based on Covid-19 data from the state and population data from the U. S. Census Bureau. The virus has killed at least 879 people in Alabama and put 2,567 people across the state in the hospital so far.
While testing has increased across Alabama, the percent of tests coming back positive has risen to 10.9% between June 14 and June 20, according to the most recent data reported by the state. That figure has drifted up from 8.2% reported in the beginning of May.
Alabama was among the states to ease restrictions meant to curb the spread of the virus comparatively early. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, allowed the statewide stay-at-home order to expire on April 30, allowing retail stores to reopen with restrictions. Restaurants, salons and gyms were allowed to reopen with new safety rules on May 11 and entertainment venues were allowed to reopen on May 22.
“Threat of COVID-19 is not over,” the governor said when in announcing he would allow the stay-at-home order to expire. “We are still seeing the virus spread and all of our people are susceptible to the infection.”
The Arkansas Department of Health reported 709 new cases since Tuesday, about 23.5 new cases per 100,00 residents. The state has averaged more than 498 new cases per day over the past seven days, up just 12.1% compared with the 7-day average a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The state has reported a total of 17,375 confirmed coronavirus cases across the state, more than 575 cases per 100,000 residents, based on Covid-19 data from the state and population data from the U. S. Census Bureau. The virus has killed at least 237 people across the state and hospitalized 1,214 people since it took hold in Arkansas.
The percent of total tests coming back positive stands at 6%, according to the state, which is just above the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold of less than 5% before moving further into reopening.
Arkansas is among the few states that never issued a statewide stay-at-home order. However, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, did order some businesses, including bars, restaurants and gyms to close. Hutchinson allowed gyms and indoor athletic facilities to reopen with modifications on May 4, followed by restaurants on May 11.
Hutchinson previously said he opposes requiring people to wear masks, but amid the surge in cases, some local and city officials have moved to mandate masks when in contact with others.
