Don’tcha just LOVE NY?
COLONIE — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said travelers from another eight states have been added to the list of those facing quarantine when arriving in New York state. Travelers from California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arriving in New York.
They join travelers from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Utah who already face quarantine because of the community spread of COVID-19 in those states.
On Monday, the state Health Department began asking passengers flying into Albany International Airport to complete forms revealing whether they’re required to self-quarantine for two weeks.
Passengers arriving from states with high COVID-19 infection rates are being instructed to quarantine for 14 days, an edict issued last week by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. At the airport, Health Department employees were available to answer travelers’ questions and to accept their completed forms, which cite “New York’s successful containment” of the illness by way of introduction and bear the message “WELCOME TO NEW YORK STATE” across the top.
Air passengers on Monday were getting the documents, the state’s COVID-19 Travel Advisory and the Traveler Health Form, as they arrived. Some airlines also were shipping the forms to their flights’ departing airports so that they could be distributed on board.
“As filling out these forms is voluntary, there are no penalties for passengers who don’t fill them out.”
Jill Montag
Health Department Spokeswoman
Passengers are asked for their addresses, whether they’ve traveled to one of the states with spiking COVID-19 infections as well as whether they have such symptoms as fever, chills or difficulty breathing, and whether New York is their final destination.
They’re also asked whether they are “essential” workers and whether they plan to be in New York for more than 36 hours.
Out-of-state residents are told that they must cover the cost of “appropriate accommodations” if they don’t have a suitable New York dwelling for self-quarantine.
It’s not clear, however, how many people are actually filling out the documents.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo adds eight states to New York quarantine list
Calamity Jane