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Trump: ‘Quarantine Will Not Be Necessary,’ Instead Directs CDC To Issue ‘Strong’ Travel Advisory

Anders Hagstrom White House Correspondent
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Quarantine will not be necessary for New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Saturday evening.

Trump was weighing an outright quarantine order throughout Saturday, but has instead decided to direct the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a “strong travel advisory.”

Trump first said he was considering quarantine measures Saturday morning before flying to Virginia to send the USNS Comfort hospital ship to relieve hospitals in New York City. He announced the consideration after speaking with Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has expressed concern about people traveling out of New York. (RELATED: Cuomo Paints Dire Picture Of Coronavirus In New York)

“Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it’s a hotspot — New York, New Jersey maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined. I’m thinking about that right now,” he said earlier. “We might not have to do it but there’s a possibility that sometime today we’ll do a quarantine — short term — two weeks for New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut.”

Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacted badly to the news, saying he had “no idea what that means,” but that he didn’t like the sound of it.

Cuomo said Saturday that New York has confirmed 52,318 cases of coronavirus in the state. New Jersey has the second-highest case total of any state, with 8,825. New York City alone is nearing 30,000 cases. Just over 110,000 cases have been reported in the entire United States.

Details of the CDC’s travel advisory have yet to be released.