Hartford Courant

Colorado added to list

One state added, two removed; R.I. remains on list

- By Emily Brindley

Connecticu­t on Tuesday updated the list of states from which travelers must take extra coronaviru­s precaution­s, adding Colorado and removing Arizona and Virginia. Rhode Island, which was added to the list last week, remains on the most recent list. There are now 34 states and territorie­s on Connecticu­t’s travel advisory, down from 35 last week. Connecticu­t’s travel advisory, which is crafted in conjunctio­n with NewJersey and NewYork, requires travelers to either self-quarantine for 14 days or test negative for the coronaviru­s when traveling from hot spot areas. Travelers from hot spots must also fill out a travel form upon arriving in Connecticu­t.

Connecticu­t on Tuesday updated the list of states from which travelers must take extra coronaviru­s precaution­s, adding Colorado and removing Arizona and Virginia.

Rhode Island, which was added to the list last week, remains on the most recent list.

There are now 34 states and territorie­s on Connecticu­t’s travel advisory, down from 35 last week.

Connecticu­t’s travel advisory, which is crafted in conjunctio­n with New Jersey and New York, requires travelers to either self-quarantine for 14 days or test negative for the coronaviru­s when traveling from hot spot areas. Travelers from hot spots must also fill out a travel form upon arriving in Connecticu­t.

States and territorie­s are added to the list if they average 10 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, or if they have a positive test rate of 10% or higher over the course of a week.

Although the majority of U.S. states are currently listed on the advisory, Connecticu­t doesn’t have any restrictio­ns on travelers from other Northeast states — with the lone exception of Rhode Island.

Rhode Island was briefly added to the advisory in early August, although in that case it remained on the advisory for only a week. Connecticu­t’s neighbor was again added to the advisory on Sept. 22, when its rate of new coronaviru­s cases per capita just barely climbed above the threshold.

According to data from the Rhode Island Department of Health’s website, the state’s new case average dropped slightly in recent days, but not enough to drop it back below the threshold.

Rhode Island’s presence on a neighborin­g state’s travel advisory brings additional complicati­ons for people travelers and commuters. However, Connecticu­t’s advisory only applies to those who visited other states for more than 24 hours and are remaining in-state for more than 24 hours, meaning that it does not prevent most workers from traveling across the Rhode Island border.

However, state officials have urged Connecticu­t residents to avoid traveling across the state border as much as possible, including for beach outings or restaurant visits, and to work from home if feasible.

Last week, when Rhode Island was first re-added to the advisory, a spokespers­on for the Rhode Island Department of Health said the increased case rate was

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