New York City is setting up quarantine checkpoints at “key entry points” along main bridges and tunnels to the city to screen travelers coming from more than 30 states with bad coronavirus outbreaks, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
“Travelers coming in from those states will be given information about the quarantine, they will be reminded that it is required, not optional,” de Blasio said at a press briefing. “They’ll be reminded that failure to quarantine is a violation of state law and it comes with serious penalties.” The checkpoints will begin Wednesday.
Dr. Ted Long, head of New York City’s Test & Trace Corps, said that a fifth of all new coronavirus cases in New York City are from out-of-state travelers.
The new agency is deploying teams to Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal starting Thursday. They are checking in on travelers through calls and text messages, “and if we can’t get through to you on the phone, we’ve deployed teams that are now knocking on your door and making sure you’re safe,” Long said.
“We want you to come into New York City, but we need you to safely separate for two weeks when you arrive to keep New York City safe,” he said.
Long said the city will help those quarantining with free food deliveries, assistance with medications, telehealth services or “even a hotel stay.”
“We know that it’s not easy to get through a two-week period of safe separation, but it’s incredibly important and were going to do everything in our power to help you,” Long said.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, alongside New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, issued the joint travel advisory in late June, ordering travelers from states with a significant Covid-19 communitywide spread to self-quarantine for 14 days. The original order applied to only nine states.
New York had previously stationed “enforcement teams” from the the state’s Department of Health at the city’s major airports to ensure compliance with the advisory. All passengers from incoming flights from states on the advisory are required to fill out a traveler form.
Source Article from https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/new-york-city-sets-up-quarantine-checkpoints-as-it-toughens-state-travel-restrictions.html
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