News Room

As the United States marked a subdued Independence Day last weekend, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to surge in many places, prompting governors of several states to implement or reinstate strict protocols meant to combat it.

First New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut enacted policies requiring 14-day quarantines for travelers from certain states currently experiencing COVID-19 infection spikes. Now, Chicago has jumped onto the travel restriction bandwagon, requiring travelers from COVID-19 hot spot states to self-quarantine for up to 14 days. What will this accomplish? Unfortunately, nothing constructive, with several harmful consequences.

The coronavirus era has intensified the strategic decoupling between the United States and China. At this historical juncture, supply chains are now deemed the critical strategic drivers of regional and global security dynamics, business operations and the engine of economic activity.  

Governors in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have imposed a 14-day quarantine of travelers from COVID-19 hotspots — states with high average infection rates over a rolling window. What are they thinking? The quarantine, labelled as “advisory,” gives each state responsibility for enforcement. However, governors provide no guidance on how to enforce such an advisory. The reason is that such an advisory is unenforceable, and hence, serves no useful purpose.  

A North Carolina congressman says 10% of his state’s population has been exposed to the novel coronavirus. U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy, a doctor and a Republican, made the claim in a June 23 Facebook post criticizing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. “We also found out over the weekend that antibody testing conducted by Dr. John Sanders at Wake Forest University showed that over 1 million people in North Carolina have now been exposed to the virus. How could another institution in our state get this done so quickly when the governor’s administration could not?” Murphy wrote.