COVID-19: NYC Checkpoints

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced COVID-19 traveler registration checkpoints at key entry points into New York City to ensure compliance with New York State quarantine requirements and further the containment of COVID-19. 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. 

“New York City is holding the line against COVID-19, and New Yorkers have shown tremendous discipline,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re not going to let our hard work slip away and will continue to do everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated in July, that as COVID continues to surge virtually unabated across the country states will be added to the list. Today, a total of 35 states are now on the list.  

Travelers who have visited 35 designated states or territories with high COVID-19 transmission rates are required to complete the New York State Department of Health traveler form and quarantine for a period of 14 days upon entering New York City.

The DOF Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, will operate traveler registration checkpoints at major bridge and tunnel crossings into New York City. Starting Thursday, August 6, the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit will begin outreach at Penn Station to educate travelers about New York State home-quarantine orders.  Travelers coming in from these states must complete travel health forms to support contact tracing efforts. The City is also partnering with transportation and tourism companies to direct travelers to complete health forms and educate them about quarantine requirements under state law. The City has also added digital signage at points of entry into the City to increase public awareness of New York State’s registration and quarantine mandates.

"The DOF Sheriff’s Office in coordination with other law enforcement agencies will undertake traveler registration checkpoints at major bridge and tunnel crossings into New York City.  As Sheriff, I understand the absolute serious nature of this pandemic as well as this decided course of action.  The entire team will strive to ensure the deployment balances the critical public health and welfare needs of the residents of the city with the legal protections entitled to all people,” said Sheriff Joseph Fucito.

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. "Our progress in New York is even better than we expected, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers.

New York's  numbers continue to decline steadily," Governor Cuomo said, "But we must protect that progress, which is why today we are adding more states to our travel advisory. We cannot go back to the hell we experienced just a few months ago - and surging infection rates across the country threaten to bring us back there - so we must all remain vigilant."

Non-essential workers subject to the State’s travel quarantine must:

·            Stay at their residence or in a hotel room, leaving only for essential medical appointments or treatment or to obtain food and other essential goods when the delivery of food or other essential goods to their residence or hotel is not feasible;

·            Not invite or allow guests, other than caregivers, into their quarantined residence or hotel room; and

·            Self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and seek appropriate medical advice or testing if COVID-19 symptoms arise.

Essential workers subject to the State’s quarantine must:

·            Self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and self-quarantine and seek medical advice or testing if they show symptoms of COVID-19; and

·            Limit their activities involving contact with other persons for fourteen (14) days to the purposes that exempted them from the self-quarantine requirement to the extent possible.

·            If staying longer than 36 hours in New York state, seek diagnostic testing for COVID-19 as soon as possible upon arrival (within 24 hours).

Failure to quarantine is a violation of State law, and individuals who fail to quarantine are subject to a $10,000 fine. Individuals who refuse to fill out the New York State Department of Health travel form are subject to a $2,000 fine.

The travel advisory list as of August 5, 2020 includes:

·             Alaska

·             Alabama

·             Arkansas

·             Arizona

·             California

·             Florida

·             Georgia

·             Iowa

·             Idaho

·             Illinois

·             Indiana

·             Kansas

·             Kentucky

·             Louisiana

·             Maryland

·             Minnesota

·             Missouri

·             Mississippi

·             Montana

·             North Carolina

·             North Dakota

·             Nebraska

·             New Mexico 

·             Nevada

·             Ohio

·             Oklahoma

·             Puerto Rico

·             Rhode Island

·             South Carolina

·             Tennessee

·             Texas

·             Utah

·             Virginia

·             Washington

·             Wisconsin