Emerging Fortresses: Three States Try To Restrict Travelers From Hot Spots; CDC Issues Advisory
While governors from Rhode Island, Florida and Texas, among others, took steps to keep travelers from virus "hot zones" away or to self quarantine, critics say the Constitution only gives the power to regulate interstate travel and commerce to the federal government, not the states. Also, the CDC urges residents from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to avoid nonessential travel for 14 days.
The Wall Street Journal:
States Restrict Travelers From Coronavirus ‘Hot Zones’
Local governments across the country are imposing travel restrictions on people from hot-spots of the new coronavirus in the U.S., forcing them to self-isolate, stopping vehicles with out-of-state plates and urging them to stay away. Governors in Rhode Island, Florida and Texas, among others, have tightened restrictions on out-of-state travelers. In particular, they have targeted those coming from New York, the pandemic’s U.S. epicenter, and surrounding states. State leaders say the measures are needed to combat the spread of the virus. (Calfas and Ansari, 3/29)
The New York Times:
‘Group Of Local Vigilantes’ Try To Forcibly Quarantine Out-Of-Towners, Officials Say
A group of residents from an island town in Maine cut down a tree and dragged it into the middle of a road in an attempt to forcibly quarantine three roommates they believed could have the new coronavirus after arriving from out of state, law enforcement officials said on Saturday. The tree was discovered after one of the roommates left their residence on Cripple Creek Road in Vinalhaven, an island off the coast of Maine, at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday to see why the cable service wasn’t working, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. (Ortiz, 3/29)
Politico:
Rhode Island Ends Specific Restrictions On New Yorkers — By Making Them National
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo is no longer singling out motorists from New York for restricted access to her state. Instead, she has broadened the restrictions to include all other states. Raimondo announced on Friday that her state’s police would pull over drivers with New York license plates and force them to self-quarantine for 14 days. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly denounced the policy and threatened to sue. (Mahoney and Gerstein, 3/29)
State House News Service:
Baker Asks Visitors To Self-Isolate For Two Weeks — Or Not Come At All
With one of the nation's hottest coronavirus zones just 200 miles south on Interstate 95 in New York City, Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday urged people who are thinking about traveling to Massachusetts to reconsider, and said that anyone arriving to the state through an airport or train station will be advised to self-quarantine for 14 days. (Murphy, 3/27)
Politico:
Texas Expands Quarantine Requirement For Out-Of-State Travelers
Texas expanded its quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers on Sunday, adding to a growing patchwork of domestic travel rules aimed at stemming the spread of the coronavirus. Gov. Greg Abbott targeted some of the pandemic's hot spots, ordering that air travelers from California, Washington state and several other places must self-quarantine for two weeks after arriving in Texas. (Bermel, 3/29)
The Washington Post:
Escaping The Coronavirus: The Great American Migration Of 2020
Back home in Oakland, Calif., Lisa Pezzino and Kit Center built a life that revolved around music and the people who make it — the musicians who recorded on Pezzino’s small label and performed in places where Center rigged the lights and sound equipment. Where they are now, deep in the redwood forest near Big Sur, 140 miles south along the California coast, there is mostly the towering silence of isolation. A tiny cabin, an outdoor kitchen, just one neighbor. This is life in the flight from the virus. (Fisher, Schwartzman and Weissenbach, 3/28)
