Day 175: Kissing the Comity Clause Goodbye

The world is on the cusp of 16 million coronavirus cases. Ecuador snuck past Sweden today to take the #27 slot just below China. The Guardian reports that Australia's success story has "unravelled". Here at PlagueBlog we don't count their #73 spot as a notable failure, nor are we impressed with case counts on the order of the post-surge UK. But perhaps this will disabuse them of the notion of locking down the flu a contagious respiratory disease.

Here in Massachusetts, our numbers (after a three and a half hour reporting delay) are up 0.3% again today. Maybe the MDPH is busy patrolling the borders, now that the governor has bureaucratized our fluctuating 14-day quarantine for travelers with new regulations. The only significant change is the new paperwork for people from the 42 germy states, and the movement of Hawaii from the germy category to the safe low-risk category. (There's a map.)

Connecticut also has a form and a map, though their map includes many more states. Rhode Island just has a google doc. New Hampshire only permits New Englanders to visit without quarantine, while Maine has a short, random list that specifically disses Massachusetts. Vermont breaks things down by county in the rather perverse belief that they're attracting tourists from woodsy places that are just as boring and underpopulated as Vermont itself.

PlagueBlog notes that Article IV, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution (also known as the Comity Clause or the Privileges and Immunities Clause) states that "The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States." Nowhere does it restrict those privileges and immunities to germ-free states.