White House says Trump can IGNORE New Jersey’s coronavirus quarantine order to travel to his golf course this weekend
PRESIDENT Donald Trump will visit his New Jersey resort to play golf this weekend after returning from Arizona — despite the new 14-day quarantine restrictions on those traveling from virus-ridden states.
The president is exempt from the travel advisory, which the governors of , , and , announced on Wednesday, according to the .
White House spokesperson Judd Deere said, when asked about complying with the order: “The president of the is not a civilian.”
“Anyone who is in close proximity to him, including staff, guests, and press are tested for and confirmed to be negative,” Deere said in a statement.
Trump traveled to , on Tuesday to visit a section of the southern border wall with Mexico.
between the two countries, and signed a piece of wall.
Trump then spoke to thousands of supporters during an indoor at a church in Phoenix.
Arizona is one of — and by Thursday, had reported nearly 60,000 cases and more than 1,400 deaths.
But the White House official said: “With regard to Arizona, the White House followed it’s COVID mitigation plan to ensure the president did not come into contact with anyone who was symptomatic or had not been tested.”
“Anyone traveling in support of the president this weekend will be closely monitored for symptoms and tested for COVID and therefore pose little to no risk to the local populations.”
Trump is now expected to travel to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend.
But on Wednesday, New York’s , New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, and Connecticut’s Ned Lamont .
Anyone who enters the three states will have to self-quarantine for 14 days.
New York, once the epicenter of the United States' outbreak, saw more than 412,000 cases and 30,000 deaths, however the rate of infection has since dropped.
New Jersey has reported 173,000 cases with more than 13,000 deaths — prompting Murphy to say the decision was because the Garden State has been “through hell and back.”
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The decision comes as states across the US, including and , have seen a surge in coronavirus cases as lockdown measures are eased.
Travelers from , Arizona, , Florida, , , , and Texas, are currently the only ones who will have to isolate, but Cuomo said the number would be updated daily based on a 10 percent+ infection rate.
Those who don't quarantine themselves will be subject to fines of up to $10,000.