NEW YORK – The New York quarantine list, which had recently restricted travel from 41 US access points, will no longer exist. Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that anyone entering the state can end their mandatory quarantine before the 14-day period if they test negative for the coronavirus.
As outlined by the governor, there are two classifications of travelers entering New York: residents who traveled out of state for less than 24 hours, and everyone else.
Both types of travelers entering New York must now be quarantined for at least a 3-day period before taking a coronavirus test. As long as the test is negative, says the governor, the quarantine period may end.
New Yorkers returning from a trip of less than 24 hours out of state will not need to take a test before returning, but must take a test after re-entry. Everyone else, in the general categorization, must take a test before traveling to New York, Cuomo said. Within three days of their trip to the state, individuals must take a test before traveling by plane or other means of travel.
Anyone who chooses not to take a test must complete a 14-day quarantine period.
“There will be no quarantine list, there will be no metrics,” Cuomo said at his daily press conference on Saturday.
The quarantine list required travelers to the tri-state area from US hotspots to self-isolate for 14 days before roaming freely in the region. It also required tri-state area residents to self-isolate after returning home from an identified access point.
The most recent trial mandate for people entering the state will not apply to the neighbors of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. While acknowledging the growing positivity of the virus in nearby states, Cuomo said there are too many daily trips across their borders to regulate.
“It would disrupt everything if I quarantined those states,” he added.
Newly confirmed infections per day are increasing in 47 states and deaths in 34, according to Johns Hopkins. Death is a lagging indicator, meaning it may not be long before more states lose more people. Right now, the United States is averaging nearly 800 deaths a day, a far cry from the 2,200 it was seeing in late April, but a puzzling trend as cold weather and the holidays approach.
Deaths per day have skyrocketed 10 percent in just the past two weeks across the country, prompting a growing number of states and cities to implement new restrictions. Calls to avoid vacation travel amid the latest surge continue to rise.
This story is unfolding.
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