Utah Gov. Gary Herbert issued an executive order Thursday requiring adults entering the state to disclose their travel plans in the latest state-led crackdown on domestic travel amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The order, which goes into effect Friday morning, applies to all adults regardless of how they enter the state. The governor’s office said Thursday visitors will get instructions on how to register their travel plans via an automatic text message when they arrive in the state.
“I am impressed with the extraordinary things that Utahns are doing each day to help one another stay safe and stay home. In recent days, however, we have seen an uptick in travel on our roads,” Herbert said in a statement.
“We need to limit our travel to essential purposes only. Our goal is to trace potential cases of Covid-19 in inbound travelers.”
The order comes as the number of known coronavirus cases in the US surges past 454,000 with at least 16,200 deaths as of Thursday evening. In Utah alone, there are some 1,848 cases with 13 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The program went into effect Friday with nine checkpoints at roads into the state and Salt Lake City airport.
John Gleason, public information officer for the Utah Department of Transportation, said at a news conference Friday that the state’s plan to collect travel information from visitors is “voluntary at this time.”
“We’re calling upon all of the citizens who drive into the state of Utah or otherwise land at the Salt Lake City International Airport to comply with the order by voluntarily going on to the website and filling out that information,” Gleason said.
Other states have also put into effect measures to limit travelers to their states. Texas has a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for anyone traveling from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the city of New Orleans; Rhode Island issued a similar mandate for anyone traveling to the state from New York or anyone who had been to New York in the previous 14 days; and Florida also mandated a 14-day self-quarantine for travelers coming to the Sunshine State from airports in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Still, Herbert remains one of the few remaining US governors who has resisted issuing a statewide stay-at-home order – favoring instead a “stay home, stay safe” directive that he says strikes a more positive tone.
“These directives are not to be confused with a shelter-in-place order,” his instructions state.
This approach runs counter to guidance from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who has repeatedly said he doesn’t understand why every state hasn’t issued stay-at-home orders.
“I don’t understand why that’s not happening,” Fauci told CNN’s Anderson Cooper during CNN’s coronavirus town hall earlier this month.
In response, a growing number of governors have called for a unified front among states to issues stay-at-home orders.
“Our message is this: ‘What are you waiting for?’” California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNN when asked about governors who haven’t followed suit.
“What more evidence do you need? If you think it’s not going to happen to you, there are many proof points all across this country; for that matter, around the rest of the world.”
This story has been updated with additional information after the order took effect.
CNN’s Konstantin Toropin and Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.