Immune To COVID? New Study Suggests Why

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut expanded the list of states whose residents are subject to a 14-day quarantine when traveling to the region.

The policy now include visitors from California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee.

The governors of the three northeastern states, working together to ward off any potential resurgence of coronavirus in the hardest hit region of the U.S., had previously announced that travelers from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas are subject to a 14-day quarantine.

“If an individual is traveling to New Jersey from one of these sixteen states, he or she should self-quarantine period of 14 days,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said in a statement Tuesday. “Our collective efforts to flatten the curve and beat the virus, in coordination with our neighbors in New York and Connecticut, have led to a steady decline in COVID-19 positive cases, hospitalizations, and rate of transmission. However, many states across the country are experiencing a significant uptick in this data and we must remain vigilant to continue our progress against the virus."

Residents returning from those states are also subject to quarantine.

Those traveling on business are exempt.

Enforcement varies among the three states.

New Jersey's website states that the "self-quarantine is voluntary, but compliance is expected." Connecticut is calling the quarantine an "advisory" and says "it will be up to individuals to abide" by it.

New York is taking a tougher stand, with those who break the quarantine rule subject to a fine of up to $10,000.

The rules apply to any state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% over a seven day rolling average. The list of states will be updated regularly and can be viewed here.

More than 2.6 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the U.S., according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Nearly 130,000 people have died because of the new coronavirus. Worldwide, more than 511,909 people have died, and there have been 10.5 million infections.

Latest Developments

United States:

-Cases of COVID-19 in California, Texas and Florida continue to skyrocket. California, with more than 232,000 cases, now has the second highest number in the nation, behind New York. The top five are rounded out by New Jersey, Texas and Florida.

-Jackson Health System in Miami is suspending all elective and non-emergency surgeries after the number of coronavirus patients doubled in the past two weeks, according to WTVJ-TV.

-At least 19 states have halted or slowed reopening plans, either due to a surge in cases of COVID-19 or to try and prevent one, CNN reported.

-New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that beaches in the city would reopen for swimming, but indoor dining at restaurants would not resume Monday as planned.

-Ninety soldiers who were in an Army survival course at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, are under quarantine after one of them tested positive for COVID-19, The Associated Press reported. The soldiers were going through the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape course, known as SERE school.

Worldwide:

-The border between Spain and Portugal reopened on Wednesday after being closed for three months.

-More than 300,000 people in suburbs north of Melbourne, Australia, were ordered under lockdown for a month starting Wednesday, according to Reuters. The move comes after two weeks of rising COVID-19 infections in the region. Australia has reported 7,920 cases and 104 deaths.

-At least 15,000 policemen in Peru have contracted COVID-19 and 243 have died, CNN reported. The country extended its lockdown until July 31. Nationwide, Peru has confirmed more than 285,000 cases and 9,677 deaths. The country has the sixth-highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world behind the U.S., Brazil, Russia, India and the United Kingdom.

For the latest coronavirus information in your county and a full list of important resources to help you make the smartest decisions regarding the disease, check out our dedicated COVID-19 page.