Connecticut has issued $3,000 in fines for residents who failed to follow the recent coronavirus travel advisory guidelines put in place during the pandemic.
Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday that two individuals received $1,000 fines for not filling out public health forms when they returned from Louisiana and Florida, which are two states with a high number of COVID-19 cases. One of the residents received an additional $1,000 fine after a co-worker told officials he was choosing not to quarantine for 14 days.
“Look I hate to do it, but we are going to be serious and show people we are serious about this,” Lamont said Monday.
“Overwhelmingly the number of people flying into our state from COVID-infected areas is way down. I think people are self-policing and self-regulating, but not all are,” he added. “We wanted to send a message loud and clear.”
Connecticut’s current advisory calls for “anyone traveling into Connecticut from a state that has a new daily positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average are directed to self-quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state.”
There are currently 34 states on the travel advisory, including Utah.
People in Connecticut must fill out the form if they’ve returned from a state that has a 10% or higher positive rate over a seven-day rolling average, or a new daily positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, according to The Associated Press.