CDC Travel Advisory, Rhode Island, Florida Quarantines Don't Apply to Trucking

While President Trump spoke of a possible quarantine of some northeastern states at a press conference on Saturday, March 28, he quickly backtracked on the statement later that day, announcing instead a travel advisory. Meanwhile, Florida is taking steps to

“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 @CDCgov to issue a strong Travel Advisory, to be administered by the Governors, in consultation with the Federal Government. A quarantine will not be necessary,” tweeted the president Saturday evening. The initial statement by Trump called for a two-week quarantine of New York, New Jersey, and certain parts of Connecticut.

The Centers for Disease Control domestic travel advisory “does not apply to employees of critical infrastructure industries, including but not limited to trucking, public health professionals, financial services, and food supply,” according to the CDC website.  

While the CDC advisory is not currently mandatory, other states are implementing more restrictive quarantines. Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed an executive order recently that anyone traveling to Rhode Island from New York must be quarantined for 14 days. State troopers will also be stopping any vehicles with New York plates from entering Rhode Island.

However, according to recent Boston Globe article, Colonel James Manni, superintendent of the RI State Police, stated that his troopers will not stop commercial vehicles or tractor-trailer trucks with New York license plates that might be carrying food, supplies, or medicine.

Florida is also attempting to keep New York passenger vehicles from entering the state. An advisory on the Florida Trucking Association website has alerted commercial truck drivers that there are checkpoints on I-95 at the Florida-Georgia border and at the eastbound I-10 3.3-mile marker from Alabama at the weigh station. Truck drivers will be guided through a bypass lane.