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Law360 (June 30, 2020, 6:22 PM EDT ) As COVID-19 cases surged in multiple regions amid noncompliance with wearing face masks over the past week, governors of newly dubbed hot-spot states and their neighbors, even ones with declining cases and deaths, rushed to pause reopening activities such as indoor dining.
In an additional precaution, New Jersey and New York joined Connecticut in instituting a mandatory two-week quarantine for visitors arriving from states experiencing a rapid spread of the virus.
The good news: Financial relief is on the way in Florida for those in need of rental and mortgage assistance, for Massachusetts communities struggling the most,and for museums in Pennsylvania that have been forced to close during the pandemic.
Here's a breakdown of some COVID-19-related state measures from the past week.
Click for state-by-state data on COVID-19 legislation and executive orders, powered by LexisNexis.
Multistate
The governors of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York have jointly announced a travel advisory directing all individuals coming into the states from areas with significant community spread of the coronavirus to place themselves in a 14-day quarantine. The quarantine mandate currently applies to visitors from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
California
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday unveiled the California COVID Assessment Tool, or CalCAT, a modeling program that analyzes coronavirus spread, short-term disease trend forecasts and scenarios based on comparisons with models from other states.
Delaware
Gov. John Carney on Thursday announced that he was delaying a decision on when to move into the state's third phase of economic reopening, citing the widespread failure of the public to wear masks in public places.
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced that $250 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding was available to Floridians in need of rental and mortgage assistance.
Massachusetts
Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday unveiled a $275 million economic recovery package that would provide funding to communities hardest hit by COVID-19.
New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed an executive order pausing the resumption of indoor dining, which had been set to resume in time for the July 4 weekend, citing the spike in coronavirus cases in other states.
Murphy on Friday signed a law limiting fees for food service delivery, an industry that has experienced a surge of business during the pandemic. The legislation prohibits third-party delivery companies like GrubHub and DoorDash from charging service fees greater than 20% of the cost of the order and prohibits restaurants and their independent delivery contractors from charging fees greater than 10% of the cost of the order.
New York
In announcements Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is considering postponing indoor dining; that the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards program is slated for July 30 at the Barclays Center, with a "limited to no" audience; and that large malls will be required to adopt air conditioning systems capable of filtering out the coronavirus.
Cuomo on Sunday announced there were five deaths and 869 hospitalizations from coronavirus on Saturday, marking the lowest death and hospitalization figures in the state since the pandemic began.
On Saturday, Cuomo ordered health officials to investigate potential coronavirus exposure at a high school graduation in Westchester County due to the presence of a student who had traveled to Florida. Also on Saturday, Cuomo said state employees who voluntarily traveled to high-risk states after June 25 would not be eligible for coronavirus paid sick leave.
On Friday, health officials announced the investigation of two coronavirus clusters in Oswego and Montgomery counties that were identified through contact tracing.
Pennsylvania
The city of Philadelphia on Monday halted plans to allow restaurants to resume indoor dining in time for the Fourth of July weekend. Officials said the ban on indoor dining, as well as the operations of gyms and indoor fitness facilities, would remain in place until further notice.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Friday announced that Lebanon County is slated to move to the green, or least restrictive, phase of reopening on July 3.
Also on Friday, Wolf said $20 million in COVID-19 Cultural and Museum Preservation Grant Program funding was available for organizations impacted by the pandemic.
Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission will extend the application deadline for the federal Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program (P-EBT), which helps eligible families receive food, to July 31.
On Friday, Abbott reined in reopening activities in response to an increase in positive coronavirus cases. Under an executive order, all bars and rafting and tubing businesses were ordered closed, and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 had to receive local government approval.
In other responses to a surge in coronavirus cases, Abbott on Thursday announced that further reopening activities were paused and issued an executive order suspending elective surgeries in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties.
Abbott on June 24 said the Texas Division of Emergency Management, in partnership with the Texas Military Department, would begin distributing surgical masks to every individual who undergoes coronavirus testing at state-run mobile test collection sites.
--Editing by Bruce Goldman.
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