NY gov. warns visitors from 'highest-risk' coronavirus states to fill out paperwork or face $2,000 fine
State Governor Andrew Cuomo makes an announcement and holds media briefing at New York Medical College of Touro College & University System amid COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is now warning out-of-state travelers they could face up to $2,000 in fines if they leave its airports without handing over their contact information upon arrival.
The penalty is part of an effort to stall the spread of the coronavirus by enforcing a 14-day quarantine for those coming into New York from what Cuomo is describing as the “highest-risk infection states” -- which include nearly all of the southern and western U.S.
"We can't be in a situation where we have people coming from other states in the country bringing the virus again,” Cuomo told reporters Monday.
“We're going to have the Department of Health issue an emergency health order today that will mandate that out-of-state travelers from the states... must provide a location form before they leave the airport,” he said.
The forms, Cuomo says, will be handed out by airlines before planes land and will also be available online.
Related: Traveling from Florida to the NYC area? Prepare to quarantine
“If you leave the airport without providing the information, you will receive a summons immediately with a $2,000 fine,” the governor warned. “If you leave the airport without filling out the information, not only can you have a $2,000 fine, you can then be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete mandatory quarantine."
The warning comes following “instances of non-compliance,” Cuomo said.
In late June, Cuomo issued an executive order stating that “all travelers entering New York from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents, or higher than a 10 percent test positivity rate, over a seven day rolling average, will be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days consistent with Department of Health regulations for quarantine.”
New York, to date, has led the nation with 401,706 coronavirus cases and 32,350 deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University.