At Bradley International Airport on a recent Wednesday, Lizzie McClellan had just gotten off a flight from Georgia, where she was visiting her grandmother for the last two weeks.
Georgia happens to be on a list of states that are becoming hot spots for new COVID-19 cases. McClellan said because she frequently went to places that were open there, she plans to quarantine at home in 黑料吃瓜网 and get tested.
We depend on your support. .
鈥淚 just think it鈥檚 really selfish to others if I鈥檓 coming from a high-risk state and I could have the virus,鈥� she explained as she stood by baggage claim.
Claudia Porter, a resident of Georgia, came in on the same flight. She鈥檚 visiting a sister in Springfield, Massachusetts, who is recovering from surgery and plans to quarantine there.
鈥淚f she wasn鈥檛 sick and didn鈥檛 have the surgery, I actually wouldn鈥檛 be here,鈥� Porter said.
黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 declining rate of COVID-19 cases has put the state on track to managing the pandemic, but as other parts of the country see spikes in disease transmission, officials and public health experts say finding ways to prevent infection from outside the state鈥檚 borders from coming in is now a priority.
Rising cases elsewhere have also impacted 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 reopening goals. Gov. Ned Lamont at a briefing this week its Phase 3 plan, which means bars will remain closed and indoor capacity at restaurants and gyms will stay at 50% for the foreseeable future.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just erring on the side of caution,鈥� Lamont said. 鈥淲e see what鈥檚 going on in other states, and I think it鈥檚 really important that we maintain that.鈥�
Fewer than 100 people are hospitalized in 黑料吃瓜网 for COVID-19, a significant drop from the number of hospitalizations during the peak of the pandemic in April. The seven-day rolling average of daily positive COVID-19 test results was less than 1% this past week, one of the lowest in the nation.
Public health experts said the state鈥檚 ongoing preventive measures -- social distancing, mask wearing, quarantine and other closures -- have led to this point of stability, but it could be easily undone with premature reopening and outside influences.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a point for cautious optimism because there鈥檚 still plenty of folks in 黑料吃瓜网 who have not had COVID-19 and are potentially susceptible if it gets reintroduced,鈥� said Dr. Kevin Dieckhaus, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UConn Health.
鈥淎nd some of the other measures that we have at our disposal, which is testing and then contact tracing, really work best when there鈥檚 a lower level of community transmission,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f we introduce a number of cases from outside into the system, we could again fairly easily overwhelm the system again.鈥�
that recommends all travelers coming into 黑料吃瓜网 from states with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
Those states include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
The governor Tuesday added Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma to the travel advisory.
鈥淲hen we issued the quarantine directive, a number of people making reservations coming up from, say, Florida and South Carolina, went down about 20 percent,鈥� Lamont said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 say that with any great joy, because we have hotels and tourism and I don鈥檛 wish ill on anybody, but it鈥檚 keeping our state much, much safer.鈥�
Dieckhaus said that after hearing from several patients who intend to go ahead with travel plans this summer, he鈥檚 confident that state residents returning to 黑料吃瓜网 will continue to abide by the state guidelines and quarantine.
But the realistic expectation for out-of-staters to do the same may be lower and more problematic -- there are no fines or penalties for people who do not comply. Whereas in New York, people who violate the state鈥檚 travel advisory could face a civil penalty of up to $10,000.
鈥淭he quarantine without it being enforced by law is a little difficult to fully implement,鈥� Dieckhaus said, 鈥渂ut I think the spirit of that is certainly valid.鈥�
Kevin Dillon, executive director of the 黑料吃瓜网 Airport Authority, which runs Bradley International Airport, has suggested setting up a COVID-19 testing center inside the airport.
鈥淪o we鈥檙e actually trying to create a scenario where folks would have the alternative to take a test and hopefully get a negative result and avoid the 14-day quarantine period,鈥� he said.
Another alternative, he said, is to allow people to show proof of a recent negative test result upon arrival in order to skip the quarantine period. This is already being done in Hawaii and Alaska.
Airport activity has significantly slowed since the beginning of the pandemic. Dillon estimated that passenger numbers were down as much as 98% from a similar period last year. Recently, activity has started to gradually pick back up.
Dillon said people are taking the recommendations seriously because they recognize the public health safety factor, but he said policies that deter travel will continue to have an economic impact on the airport.
鈥淚 think most folks feel a viable airport is extremely important to the overall economic development here in the state,鈥� Dillon said. 鈥淎nd quite frankly, if we can鈥檛 keep airlines interested in providing service at Bradley Airport, it鈥檚 going to have a profound impact down the road as we try to regain the economy here in the state.鈥�
The 黑料吃瓜网 travel advisory took effect June 24.
