New York Residents Face Fines After Travel to Around 65% of U.S.
Hawaii, Virgin Islands and more have been added to New York's updated travel advisory that now includes 33 states and territories. Violators face fines or even jail.
On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced additional states and locations meets the metrics to qualify for the travel advisory, requiring individuals who have traveled to New York from those states, all of which have significant community spread, to quarantine for 14 days.
Hawaii, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands have been added to New York's coronavirus travel advisory. Alaska, New Mexico, Ohio and Rhode Island have been removed.
The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
"New York went from one of the worst situations in the country, to an example for the rest of the nation to follow," Cuomo said. "Our numbers continue to remain low and steady, which shows this virus will respond to an approach based on science, not politics. In order to protect this progress, we must keep up our efforts - we cannot go back to the hell we experienced a few months ago, which is why we are adding Hawaii, South Dakota and Virgin Islands to the travel advisory."
The full, updated travel advisory list is below:
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
Nevada
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Virgin Islands
Wisconsin
The travel advisory also requires any New Yorker to quarantine for 14 days after returning from a state on the quarantine list.
Anyone found violating the quarantine will be subject to a judicial order, placed in a mandatory quarantine and fined, Cuomo added.
“You violate the quarantine, you will have to do mandatory quarantine, and you will be fined," Cuomo said.
According to Cuomo, a person found violating the order could be fined $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for a second violation and $10,000 if the person causes "harm."
Cuomo recently announced a travel enforcement operation started at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state's quarantine restrictions and to help contain the rates of COVID-19 transmission in New York State.
Cuomo confirmed travelers will be fined $2,000 if they leave an airport without submitting a contact information form. Information on the form includes contact information and travel plans while in New York. The forms will be handed out online, but can also be filled out online.
The travel advisory doesn't impact essential workers, officials say. Officials also note if you are only passing through a state on the list, meaning you aren't spending more than 24 hours, you also don't have to quarantine.