How I Got My Mother Quarantined

A week ago I wrote a blog criticizing Connecticut’s COVID-19 related travel quarantine. I was critical because I only discovered the quarantine existed upon landing at Hartford’s Bradley International Airport. As I was arriving to take my mother for a blood transfusion I was likely eligible for an exemption from the quarantine – but I hadn’t realized I’d need one.

This is an embarrassing admission for a market analyst. Clients pay me to provide them with enhanced situational awareness which includes my knowledge of a range of global regulatory conditions influencing both regional and worldwide technology decision making. Somehow it didn’t even occur to me that travel might still be restricted within the U.S.

It’s true that the number and variety of restrictions are greatly reduced from the peak of the pandemic when a total of 25 U.S. states had some kind of interstate restrictions, but six New England states plus New York and New Jersey – the Northeast portion of the U.S. – remains a hotbed of restrictions after suffering media scrutiny as a COVID hotspot. New Hampshire (home of license place slogal: “Live Free or Die”) is the only New England state with no travel restrictions and has never had any.

I was flying in to Hartford on my first post-pandemic flight. Under the Trump Administration’s Payroll Protection Plan, airlines in the U.S. participating in the plan are obliged to continue to fly most of their pre-pandemic routes, so formerly frequent flyers like myself might be forgiven for assuming it was business more or less as usual – with the addition of masks, hand washing, and social distancing where possible. And, yes, the flight was full.

I was annoyed to hear the cabin announcement – upon landing in Hartford at Bradley – that passengers arriving from “high infection rate” states would need to register with the Connecticut Department of Health and quarantine for 14 days. Wait, what? 

I had visited Connecticut twice before during the pandemic, but on those prior occasions I had driven up from Virginia. The same restrictions applied at the time, but enforcement is a bit more problematic when the target is the driver of a privately owned vehicle.

This isn’t to say that New York State has not instituted random roadside checks at its border crossings or that some states, such as Rhode Island, haven’t sought to single out cars with New York State license plates. Drivers are not exempt by any means. For many, though, driving from state to state has been the preferred means of preserving denial that there is a pandemic, avoiding quarantine guidelines, or simply flying under the COVID radar.

Connecticut’s ongoing travel restriction is stated thus:

“Executive Order Regarding Travel: Pursuant to Governor Lamont's Executive Order No. 9C, anyone traveling into Connecticut from a state with a positive case rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10% test positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average, or from a country for which the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice, are directed to self-quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state or country.”

There are a number of exemptions from this restriction including travelers working in “essential” sectors of the economy (law enforcement, health care), or for health care reasons, or for stays of less than 24 hours. Even for these exceptions, though, a negative test in advance of travel is required and a form must be completed.

Needless to say, I had made none of these preparations, thereby potentially exposing myself to a $1,000 fine for not completing the form and a $1,000 fine for not quarantining. In other words, if I had been “found out” or “turned in” during my three-day visit I would have been vulnerable to the $1,000 fine for arriving without the form completed and $1,000 on the way out for not having quarantined.

None of this was an issue until I dropped off my mother at her assisted living facility after having lunch together and she volunteered to the staff – after I had left for the airport – that she had just had lunch with her son from Virginia. In this act she outed me for flouting COVID restrictions and flagged herself as a potential viral vector residing within a thus-far COVID-free facility housing a highly vulnerable population.

I only learned of the consequences of my inconsiderate actions that evening – which gave me the nighttime to weigh my alternatives in the context of my identity possibly being shared with local authorities. Might there be a knock on my hotel room door? Should I drive home immediately in the rental car?

I stayed overnight and flew home the following afternoon – after getting tested for the presence of an active infection, the results of which test proved to be negative. I have subsequently heard the tales of friends who have voluntarily quarantined multiple times in connection with family visits around the country. I have also heard the tales of friends who have driven across multiple state lines with or without quarantining.

My main complaint regarding quarantines in connection with air travel within the U.S.is its impracticality. My mother stated the case most eloquently by asking why United Airlines sold me the ticket and allowed me to board the plane without ever seeking to confirm the eligibility of my travel – i.e. completion of form, proof of negative test, proof of exemption or confirmed <24 hour visit plans. (Don't worry, I am not going to advocate for or predict the adoption of a universal COVID travel passport - please, God, no!)

I’m not going to fault United too much, as the failure and responsibility cascades from the White House to the Connecticut State House to my own determination to travel. United has a significant disincentive to inform me of current travel restrictions (which are comprehensively detailed or linked to deep within United’s Website), especially in a political environment within which customers are arguably of two minds regarding compliance and states and airports are under-resourced for enforcement.

United Airlines Global Travel Restrictions: https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/notices.html

CNN – “Which Countries are Welcoming U.S. Tourists Back:” https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/us-international-travel-covid-19/index.html

I managed to visit and depart Connecticut unscathed but for my mother’s son-inflicted quarantine.  Coincidentally, the Hartford Courant reported the day before my departure on Bradley International Airport’s announced plans to institute testing of arriving passengers. Not surprisingly, the airport authority noted daunting logistics required for such an endeavor, which would have to be located outside the terminal in current parking areas.

Bradley International Airport Considers Testing Passengers: https://www.courant.com/coronavirus/hc-news-coronavirus-bradley-airport-covid-testing-20200915-xurugftigjaljkmd5ujdrgmznm-story.html

The issue’s complexity and absurdity was finally brought home by last Tuesday’s update of the roster of states subject to the quarantine restriction – which is coordinated with New York and New Jersey. While Virginia remains under the pall of quarantine, neighboring Maryland was given the green light as were California, Nevada, Minnesota and Ohio. Puerto Rico was added to the restriction list.

Connecticut Travel Restrictions: https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/travel

When you bear in mind that 11 states in total, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Kansas, have travel restrictions, it is little wonder why airlines and airports have done their best to stay out of the crossfire. This is clearly a job for the Federal government, which has been more or less mute on the matter of travel restrictions. The Federal government hasn’t even been a reliable source of data.

All of that being said, the Federal government has required assisted living facilities, such as my mother’s, to report infections and fatalities. These operations have been subject to more rigorous inspections and testing since May. According to published reports approximately 40% of all COVID-related deaths in the U.S. have occurred at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities – at least 77,000 residents and workers have died from the coronavirus at 19,000 such facilities where 479,000 have been infected.

Chastened by my misadventure, I am not likely to return to the airport or the highway any time soon. There is a pandemic underway and it is not under control. I am happy to have my negative test results regarding the presence of an active infection – and more respectful of the seriousness of the situation.

A lot of us are getting stir crazy and the highway beckons. Tens of millions of us either live in high infection states or are tempted to visit a loved one or friends residing in one. We have heard of the lonely passing of relatives confined to hospital beds unable to receive family visitors. We’re all going to have to sit tight for a while longer – the downside of a bad travel decision is too dismal to contemplate. I got the message.

The last chapter of this odyssey will close this week after my mom gets tested – for the third time since the outset of the pandemic – and perhaps a week after that when her quarantine is lifted. I intend to use my own negative test to plea for her early release. Fingers crossed.