Just How Much Worse is COVID-19 in New Jersey and Connecticut?

Governor Cuomo is discouraging travel to New Jersey and Connecticut. So just how bad are things going in these neighboring states?

New York has a travel advisory in place for over 40 states and territories across the country, requiring a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving home from visiting these areas. Because the Tr-State Area is so intertwined, it's practically impossible to institute a quarantine for travel from New Jersey and Connecticut, but those neighboring states now meet the same criteria as other states across the country under New York's travel advisory.

Right now, New York has one of the country's lowest transmission rates. According to NPR, there were only 8 cases per 100,000 New Yorkers as of October 26.  In contrast, the worst state in the country right now is North Dakota, with 105 cases per 100,000 people, and that number is climbing.

New Jersey was on par with New York a few months ago, but has recently seen a significant jump in cases. 1,211 average daily cases of COVID-19 are being reported in the Garden State, with 14 in 100,000 people infected. Connecticut now shows 16. That's double the infection rate of New York.

Massachusettes and Pennsylvania also meet the criteria of the travel advisory, with numbers similar to New Jersey, but a restriction hasn't been set against them because forcing a quarantine would be "impractical."

New York does discourage travel to any of these neighboring states, however. Travel to and from Connecticut, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania should be limited to necessary business. As we approach Thanksgiving, families will need to make tough decisions whether they will be getting together or spending the holiday apart. Hopefully, numbers will come down enough so that, at least locally, travel won't be as much of a concern.