Rising infections complicate rules for New York-area travel

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Rich Collins is trapped in the maze of coronavirus-related travel restrictions in the Northeast. The Rhode Island firefighter has custody of his 5-year-old daughter every other weekend in an agreement with his ex-wife, but he can't bring her to his home because she lives in upstate New York.

“The problem is, if I bring my daughter to Rhode Island for her weekend here, then when she goes back to New York — due to Rhode Island being on New York's quarantine list — she can’t go to school. She has to quarantine for 14 days," said Collins, 36, of Warwick.

“It’s been taking its toll,” he said. “There’s no end in sight. I find it ironic that Rhode Island is the only New England state on New York's list. It’s very frustrating.”

With coronavirus rates rising across the country, more states have qualified for the travel restrictions imposed by New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, raising questions about the usefulness of those rules. Only seven states now have rates low enough to avoid the three states' 14-day quarantine mandate.

Connecticut and New Jersey recently qualified for their own restrictions due to rising virus rates, dealing a blow to the pride of a region that saw low virus numbers over the summer after suffering through the country's first large outbreak.

Public health officials say the restrictions continue to help limit the spread of the virus, but enforcement has been uneven, with the three states all relying on the honor system for travelers to self-isolate and complete forms.

And the virus rate thresholds adopted by the three states are low, compared with some others used around the country and world.

“When you impose these rules and you can’t even satisfy them yourself, what it does is it shines a bright...