Quarantine or Not, Travelers Still Go to New Mexico
2020-07-17
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1In the New Mexico mountain town of Red River, visitors from Texas walk along Main Street.
2Most of the out-of-state visitors ignore orders from New Mexico's governor to quarantine and wear face coverings.
3Tourists are also coming to others areas in the state, including Taos and the city of Santa Fe.
4But there, nearly all visitors wear face coverings.
5Both places have signs warning visitors of fines if they break the rules.
6Like governors in at least 15 states, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered out-of-state tourists to self-isolate.
7Lujan Grisham, a member of the Democratic Party, has pointed to data showing that about one in 10 of New Mexico's COVID-19 cases comes from visitors.
8Enforcing the orders is proving difficult, however.
9The United States has no national plan related to face masks.
10New Mexico police resist launching a massive campaign to enforce the state's rules.
11And even in a pandemic, many Americans continue to take long road trips.
12A road trip this summer means driving through states with very different rules when it comes to the coronavirus.
13New York, New Jersey and Connecticut require travelers from 19 states with high COVID-19 infection rates to self-quarantine for two weeks after they arrive.
14New York requires fines for those who disobey.
15Hard-hit Florida requires travelers from those three states to self-isolate for 14 days whether they arrive by car or airplane.
16Travelers who do not do so face a $500 fine.
17The states of Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont also announced self-isolation rules.
18New Mexico's government published newspaper advertisements in neighboring Arizona and Texas.
19The ads urge people from those states not to visit New Mexico.
20Arizona has a positive coronavirus test rate of 27 percent.
21In Texas, the test rate is 18 percent.
22Health experts consider a 5 percent rate to be worrisome.
23But the visitors keep coming.
24Texan Chris Fry is one of them. He recently visited Red River. "They're saying the masks should work, so why should you be quarantined?" Fry said.
25A 45-minute drive south in Taos Plaza, Louisiana tourist Christy Brasiel was upset that the historic Native American community was closed to visitors.
26She compared the New Mexico governor's rules to "communism or socialism."
27"They're taking away our liberty," she said.
28She stayed in a private Airbnb property to avoid her voluntary quarantine order.
29As in cities across New Mexico, police in Red River have yet to issue citations for not obeying COVID-19 rules, said town mayor Linda Calhoun, a Republican.
30She told the Reuters news agency that she is urging businesses in her town to require face coverings.
31"We live off of tourists, that's all we have, so it's very difficult for us to enforce the order," Calhoun said of the quarantine rule.
32Red River is sometimes called "Little Texas" because of the number of visitors from that state.
33In Taos County, COVID-19 cases have doubled in the past month.
34Many locals there are upset by the behavior of tourists.
35"It doesn't make any sense to be so selfish," said Maureen Moore, a 67-year-old lawyer.
36Three weeks ago, New Mexico reported stable or dropping daily case numbers.
37The state had used early, severe restrictions to control the spread of the virus.
38The governor eased the restrictions on June 1.
39But with its positive test rate rising above 4 percent, Lujan Grisham has criticized New Mexicans for letting down their guard.
40This week, she reclosed indoor restaurant dining.
41At a press conference on July 9, Lujan Grisham said of tourists, "We don't want you here now."
42Speaking to Texans interested in possibly visiting her state, she said, "I want you to stay in Texas."
43The governor added that New Mexico State Police would "aggressively" enforce her quarantine and mask orders.
44I'm Ashley Thompson.
1In the New Mexico mountain town of Red River, visitors from Texas walk along Main Street. Most of the out-of-state visitors ignore orders from New Mexico's governor to quarantine and wear face coverings. 2Tourists are also coming to others areas in the state, including Taos and the city of Santa Fe. But there, nearly all visitors wear face coverings. Both places have signs warning visitors of fines if they break the rules. 3Like governors in at least 15 states, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has ordered out-of-state tourists to self-isolate. Lujan Grisham, a member of the Democratic Party, has pointed to data showing that about one in 10 of New Mexico's COVID-19 cases comes from visitors. 4Enforcing the orders is proving difficult, however. The United States has no national plan related to face masks. New Mexico police resist launching a massive campaign to enforce the state's rules. And even in a pandemic, many Americans continue to take long road trips. 5A road trip this summer means driving through states with very different rules when it comes to the coronavirus. 6New York, New Jersey and Connecticut require travelers from 19 states with high COVID-19 infection rates to self-quarantine for two weeks after they arrive. New York requires fines for those who disobey. 7Hard-hit Florida requires travelers from those three states to self-isolate for 14 days whether they arrive by car or airplane. Travelers who do not do so face a $500 fine. 8The states of Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont also announced self-isolation rules. 9'Taking away out liberty' 10New Mexico's government published newspaper advertisements in neighboring Arizona and Texas. The ads urge people from those states not to visit New Mexico. Arizona has a positive coronavirus test rate of 27 percent. In Texas, the test rate is 18 percent. Health experts consider a 5 percent rate to be worrisome. 11But the visitors keep coming. 12Texan Chris Fry is one of them. He recently visited Red River. "They're saying the masks should work, so why should you be quarantined?" Fry said. 13A 45-minute drive south in Taos Plaza, Louisiana tourist Christy Brasiel was upset that the historic Native American community was closed to visitors. She compared the New Mexico governor's rules to "communism or socialism." 14"They're taking away our liberty," she said. She stayed in a private Airbnb property to avoid her voluntary quarantine order. 15As in cities across New Mexico, police in Red River have yet to issue citations for not obeying COVID-19 rules, said town mayor Linda Calhoun, a Republican. She told the Reuters news agency that she is urging businesses in her town to require face coverings. 16"We live off of tourists, that's all we have, so it's very difficult for us to enforce the order," Calhoun said of the quarantine rule. Red River is sometimes called "Little Texas" because of the number of visitors from that state. 17In Taos County, COVID-19 cases have doubled in the past month. Many locals there are upset by the behavior of tourists. 18"It doesn't make any sense to be so selfish," said Maureen Moore, a 67-year-old lawyer. 19"We don't want you here" 20Three weeks ago, New Mexico reported stable or dropping daily case numbers. The state had used early, severe restrictions to control the spread of the virus. The governor eased the restrictions on June 1. 21But with its positive test rate rising above 4 percent, Lujan Grisham has criticized New Mexicans for letting down their guard. This week, she reclosed indoor restaurant dining. 22At a press conference on July 9, Lujan Grisham said of tourists, "We don't want you here now." Speaking to Texans interested in possibly visiting her state, she said, "I want you to stay in Texas." 23The governor added that New Mexico State Police would "aggressively" enforce her quarantine and mask orders. 24I'm Ashley Thompson. 25The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 26________________________________________________________________ 27Words in This Story 28quarantine - n. to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading : to put or keep (a person or animal) in quarantine 29self-isolate - v. to keep yourself apart from others 30tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure 31pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world 32upset - adj. angry or unhappy 33citation - n. an official order to appear before a court of law 34stable - adj. in a good state or condition that is not easily changed or likely to change 35let down one's guard - idiom. to lower one's level of caution or carefulness