NEW YORK – New York officials have insisted in recent days to avoid travel, if possible, during the Thanksgiving holiday season due to the increase in reported COVID-19 cases each day, and to slow its spread.
However, the country’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revealed that from Thursday to Monday more than 900,000 people would have traveled by plane each day, the highest number of travelers since March. Sunday was the day with the most passengers not seen since March 16 with a total of 1.048 million.
Given this, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during his press conference Tuesday to ensure that New Yorkers and people who decide to travel, comply with the quarantine and State of Emergency rules when arriving in New York City.
For this, the police presence will be increased through the police station in centers and points of public transport before and after Thanksgiving. Same as John F. Kennedy airports, Newark, and Penn Station and Port Authority train and bus terminals.
“We are going to make sure that people who decide to travel comply with the travel regulations and those who do not comply will receive fines,” said the mayor. “Nobody likes to receive fines during the holidays, but we have to do it if they do not comply.”
To better explain the measures, New York City Sheriff Joe Fucito explained what the strategy would look like:
- Vehicle checkpoints at key bridges and crossings throughout New York City.
- Checkpoints at sidewalk bus stops. In other words, buses entering New York City and dropping off passengers at certain stops will encounter a group of sheriffs.
- The Tracking & Testing team and the bailiffs will also be aware of compliance with the general orders of the Department of Health for travelers arriving in New York, and will inform them about what the quarantine rules are, how to comply with them and the places where they can be carried out. tests.
- Staff will ensure that travelers have completed state-required travel documents related to COVID-19 at John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia, Newark airports, and Penn Station and Port Authority train and bus stations. .
People who violate the state’s quarantine orders could face fines of $ 1,000 and $ 2,000.
Travelers arriving in New York from another state or from countries in level 2 or 3 according to the CDC, and decide not to enter a 14-day quarantine, they have to follow the state’s quarantine rules. The quarantine mandate for people entering the state does not apply to New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Massachusetts due to regional proximity.
What are the New York quarantine rules?
For travelers who have been in another state for more than 24 hours:
- Travelers must obtain proof within three days of leaving that state.
- The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, be quarantined for three days.
- On day 4 of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain another COVID-19 test. If both tests are negative, the traveler may be released from quarantine before receiving the second negative diagnostic test.
- Travelers who meet the above criteria may be released from quarantine upon receiving the second negative test result.
For travelers who have been in another state for less than 24 hours:
- The traveler does not need proof prior to departure from the out of state and does not need to be in quarantine upon arrival in New York State.
- However, the traveler must complete the traveler information form upon entering New York State and taking a coronavirus diagnostic test 4 days after arrival in New York.
For more information on health and travel rules from New York visit this page.
Comparing the expected increase in coronavirus cases after Thanksgiving gatherings to the average weight gain of Americans after the holidays, Cuomo warned Sunday that it is “literally up to you” to control the spread of the virus by following the public health guidelines that have been repeated over and over again over the past nine months.
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