NEW YORK STATE — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York would take stricter measures to track people who come into the state from areas with high coronavirus infection rates. People coming to New York from high-infection areas will have to complete a traveler health form, or face a summons and fines of up to $2,000.
Beginning July 14, travelers to New York from 19 states will have to fill out a State Department of Health traveler form, which will be distributed by airlines prior to and upon boarding or disembarking. New York state enforcement teams will be stationed at airports across the state to ensure passengers have filled out the forms. The form is also available online.
The form asks for traveler's names, how they came to New York, what their final destination in the state is, if they have been in states with high rates of infection in the last 14 days and if they have any symptoms of COVID-19.
"New York's success in fighting the COVID-19 virus is under two threats: lack of compliance and the virus coming to New York from other states with increasing infection rates," Cuomo said. "We have already implemented a quarantine order for travelers coming in from states with the highest infection rates, but we are experiencing non-compliance with the order that can lead to outbreaks and threaten the tremendous progress we've already made."
Travelers who leave the airport without completing the form will be subject to a $2,000 fine and may be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete a mandatory quarantine. Airlines have all pledged to help make passengers aware of the new requirement using pre-flight emails, pre-flight announcements, in-flight announcements and other methods. Additionally, travelers coming to New York from designated states through other means of transport, including trains and cars, must fill out the DOH traveler form online. You can find the list of states affected by this order here.
On June 24, Cuomo announced a joint incoming travel advisory with New Jersey and Connecticut requiring that all people traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 quarantine for 14 days from the time of last contact within the state. Currently 19 states meet the criteria for required quarantine based upon a seven-day rolling average of positive tests in excess of 10 percent, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents. More information on the state's travel advisory is available here.
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