- The CDC issued a formal travel advisory for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut on Saturday after Trump walked back on his threat to impose quarantine on the three states.
- In the advisory on the CDC's website and Twitter account, the health agency urges "residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days."
- New York has been particularly hard hit by the novel coronavirus - with more than 53,000 cases, the state accounts for nearly 8% of the world's coronavirus cases.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Shortly after President Donald Trump walked back his threats to impose a quarantine on New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) issued a formal travel advisory warning for the three states.
In a statement on its website, the US health authority urged residents to "refrain from nonessential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately" due to extensive community transmission in the area. The travel advisory, however, did not apply to those who work in "critical infrastructure industries," such as public health, financial services, food supply and more.
However, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and states across the country have already placed residents on "stay at home" orders, advising that only essential workers travel outside. The advisory was made after Trump reversed his stance on imposing a quarantine on the state, without explaining how or what that meant for the states.
Early Saturday morning, Trump told reporters that he was floating the idea of imposing an "enforceable quarantine" on New York and the surrounding states because the area was a "hot spot" for the coronavirus.
However, it was unclear how the federal government would enforce such measures - a question that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo quickly raised when pushing back on the president's comments.
"I don't even know what that means," Cuomo told reporters during his daily press briefing on Saturday, adding that he had not spoken with the president about an enforced quarantine in the state.
"I don't know how that could be legally enforceable. From a medical point of view, I don't know what you would be accomplishing. I don't even like the sound of it," he said.
By the end of the day, President Trump walked back his threats to institute a quarantine on Twitter, and instead announced his administration would issue a "strong" travel advisory to be administered by the state's governors.
"On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor's of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the CDC to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors," the president tweeted.
New York has been particularly hard hit by the novel coronavirus - with more than 53,520 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the state accounts for nearly 8% of the world's coronavirus cases. New Jersey follows in the country with the second-highest caseload at 11,124 confirmed infections while Connecticut has just 1,524 confirmed cases, according to John Hopkins.
In addition to these measures, Cuomo announced the state would be taking further measures to battle the coronavirus in New York, including creating temporary hospital sites and designating "COVID-only" hospitals.
"It's smarter to keep the COVID patients separate. You don't want a person who goes into the hospital with one situation developing COVID because they happen to be exposed," he said in a briefing on Saturday.
Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.
Domestic Travel Advisory: Due to extensive community transmission of #COVID19 in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, CDC urges residents to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately. Read more: https://t.co/RAaIpQn6cj pic.twitter.com/a0eIYGzOa1
- CDC (@CDCgov) March 29, 2020On the recommendation of the White House CoronaVirus Task Force, and upon consultation with the Governor's of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, I have asked the @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the....
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 29, 2020