Maryland governor orders self-quarantine of anyone who recently visited New York area

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Wednesday ordered anyone in the state who has recently traveled to the greater New York area to self-quarantine to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

Hogan’s order follows recommendations from the Trump administration the previous day that anyone who has traveled to New York self-isolate for 14 days.

“Any Marylander, or anyone visiting Maryland who has recently spent time in New York or visited the tri-state area must quarantine in place and limit contact with others for at least 14 days,” Hogan said during a press conference.

Maryland has reported more than 400 cases of COVID-19 and four deaths, with 74 new cases in the past 24 hours — the largest one-day increase to date.

The order is not as specific as the one issued Tuesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), which called for a self-quarantine of anyone who traveled to New York in the past three weeks. 

New York has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S. with more than 30,000 positive cases as of Wednesday. New York City alone has reported nearly 18,000 cases. According to the Trump administration, about 56 percent of all the cases in the U.S. are coming out of the New York metro area.

Hogan said Wednesday that he has asked President Trump to grant Maryland a federal disaster declaration. Such a move would provide funding for state and local governments for unemployment assistance, hazard mitigation and other emergency protective measures.

Trump has issued such declarations for a number of other states in recent days, including New York, Louisiana and Iowa.

During his press conference, Hogan indicated that measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus could continue indefinitely. 

“People are looking for certainty, but the truth is we simply just don’t know how bad it’s going to get or how long it’s going to last or how successful these social distancing actions are going to be in flattening the curve,” Hogan said. “What we do know is it’s not going to be over in a matter of days or even weeks.”