New Jersey's COVID-19 travel advisory expands to include Washington D.C.

Travelers from Washington D.C. are now being advised to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival to New Jersey.

The state's travel advisory expanded Tuesday to included Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota and Puerto Rico. It now includes 34 states.

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The travel advisory applies to travelers from states where the COVID-19 transmission rate is higher than 10 people per 100,000 residents or more than 10% of the population has tested positive. Both of those criteria are calculated over a seven day rolling average. 

The other state affected are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

States are removed from the list once they are no longer exceeding those benchmarks. The list is updated weekly.

"New Jersey’s restart and recovery process relies on our collective effort and commitment to beating COVID-19 and driving down rates of transmission across our state," Gov. Phil Murphy said. "Individuals traveling from these states must remain vigilant in their actions and proactively get a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine to prevent additional outbreaks from spreading throughout New Jersey."

During the self-isolation period, people are instructed to remain in their homes, hotels or other places of lodging for 14 days. They should only leave to seek medical attention or obtain necessary items, such as food. 

New Jersey residents returning home from COVID-19 hotspots also are urged to follow the voluntary self-quarantine protocols.

The travel advisory, which was implemented alongside New York and Connecticut, first took effect in June.