Gov. Lamont will announce new restrictions on visitors to Connecticut arriving from states with COVID-19 outbreaks

Gov. Ned Lamont and nearby governors are expected to announce today a regional approach on travel plans in a joint effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, requiring a self quarantine for travelers who arrive in Connecticut from states with surging COVID-19 infections.

Lamont is expected to join with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to warn travelers from “hot spot'' states like Florida that they should be tested before entering the Northeast states.

Lamont has raised concerns about the issue at a time when hospitalizations in Connecticut has fallen dramatically from a peak of nearly 2,000 in mid-April to less than 150 recently. But the virus has been spreading much faster in other states.

“We are worried about that,‘' Lamont said Tuesday on CNBC. “We have a fair amount of traffic between Connecticut and Florida. Obviously, I’m going to be working with Governor Murphy in New Jersey and Gov. Cuomo in New York. They’ve got Newark airport and Kennedy airport. Let’s face it. The virus came by airplane, and it could come again.‘'

Concerning enforcement when travelers arrive, Lamont said, “First of all, I think we’d have an advisory that goes to every single person thinking about coming to a state like Connecticut or any of our tri-state region. They’d get a notice when they got off the airplane. We’d probably try and work with the hotels as well to say, ‘Look, if people have been tested two or three days before coming, and they didn’t test positive, they’re fine. If they can’t show they’ve been tested, they’ve got to quarantine.’ ‘'

Asked for his advice to the Texas governor regarding the recent spike in cases in the Lone Star State, Lamont said, “I’d close down the bars. … You do have to be very strict.‘'

Karl Minges, a professor who serves as chairman of Health Administration and Policy at the University of New Haven, has questions about the plan.

“On its face, it makes sense. I’m just not sure how it could be implemented in a way that really honors the policy,” Minges said. “There are various ways of getting into Connecticut to small side roads, to highways, to air travel, and it’s a question of how exactly you’re going to track these folks.”

Minges noted that Rhode Island has checkpoints, where police have stopped motorists with out-of-state licenses to ask where they were going. Lamont has avoided that step, saying that it was not necessary.

Courant staff writer Alex Putterman contributed to this report.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com

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