Gov. Cuomo implements compulsory COVID-19 tests for travelers

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• New York governor Andrew Cuomo released a new procedure for out-of-state visitors of the state.
• The latest response requires travelers to undergo a series of mandatory tests and procedures before given the approval to roam within the state.
• The state is now third in the rank of lowest COVID-19 positivity rate across the nation.

On Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that most state visitors would undergo a three-day mandatory quarantine to determine that they are coronavirus negative before they are allowed to go on their way.

Excluding  Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania residents, the governor’s latest strict order supersedes the previous advisory, which specifies more than 40 COVID-19 hot zones throughout the U.S.

On the latest mandate, travelers are now required to submit proof that they are tested negative with the virus within a period of three days upon arriving at the Big Apple, should also quarantine for another three days, and take another COVID-19 test the following day.

During an Albany briefer, the governor added that two weeks’ compulsory isolation would apply if the test were positive.

Cuomo also said the seven days of processing essentially means, at least, what makes up an incubation period, adding that there are new cases of around 2,049, and deaths of 8 people reported the previous day.

The governor further emphasized that no metrics will be necessary as one rule will be implemented throughout the country.

A quarantine period of 14 days shall be applied to anyone who would refuse the procedure.

Meanwhile, New Yorker residents returning to the state within only a whole day of leaving are also instructed to take a coronavirus test within four days upon their arrival.

Cuomo noted that if they are out-of-state for more than 24 hours, another set of procedures will be followed.

New Yorkers who cross borders daily by commuting are not obliged to be tested for every trip, Cuomo clarifies.

Before the latest advisory, a two-week mandatory quarantine was required for travelers incoming from spots considered to have a high risk of infection or growing cases of COVID-19.

According to reports Saturday, Cuomo said the targeted lockdowns or the method he called “micro cluster” in COVID-19 hotspots in Queens and Brooklyn is effective as per reports from health care centers and hospitals.

Reports indicate that in the state’s micro-clustered zones, 3 percent is the average infection cases. New York now has the third-lowest virus positivity rate across the country, with 1.49 percent.

Johns Hopkins University reported that a.97 percent positivity rate was recorded in Maine, slightly behind Vermont’s .53 percent. 

Cuomo added that New York’s positivity rate would only be at 1.3 percent without the hotspots.

Source: New York Post