Cuomo replaces quarantined travel list with new testing rules for travelers entering New York

Syracuse, New York – Governor Andrew Cuomo today eliminated the ever-growing list of quarantined trips with a new testing requirement for those entering New York from other states.

Instead, everyone entering New York will need to provide proof of a negative coronavirus test, Cuomo said. This test must take place within three days of entering the state.

But that’s not all.

The traveler must then self-quarantine for three days after entering New York. On the fourth day, the traveler must take another test.

Once that second test comes back negative, the person is no longer quarantined, he said.

If the traveler does not get tested, they must self-quarantine 14 days after arriving in New York – regardless of where they are from, Cuomo said.

People who leave the state for just 24 hours will follow a different requirement, Cuomo said.

For these shorter trips, the person must test negative within four days of returning to New York, he said.

Cuomo said the rules do not apply to contiguous states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut).

The new rules will be enforced at airports or by local health officials, Cuomo said.

The change comes as cases soar on the rise in New York City. Today, for the fourth day in a row, the state has confirmed more than 2,000 new cases of coronavirus:

• Friday Daily Test Results: 2049
• Thursday: 2259
• Wednesday: 2499
• Tuesday: 2031

Friday’s case results were based on 136,962 tests. This is a positive rate of 1.49%.

Statewide, 1,121 were hospitalized today.

Eight more people died on Friday, Cuomo said. Since March, the state has reported 25,807 deaths.

The one-day positive test rate in central New York City on Friday was 1.9%, down from 2.4% on Thursday.

The region’s seven-day positive rate is 1.5%, according to state data.

The new quarantine requirements also arrive as Thanksgiving approaches.

“Thanksgiving is going to be complicated,” Cuomo said. College students will return home. Families will come together. And even those small groups with loved ones can prove problematic, he said.

“People think they are safe if they are with people they know,” he says. “Just because they are your family does not mean they are safe from Covid.”

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