Governor Cuomo Announces New Guidelines Allowing Out-of-State Travelers to “Test Out” of Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine. Travelers to NYS must show proof of a negative test taken within three (3) days of arriving in New York State, and must also quarantine for three (3) more days and get another COVID-19 test on the fourth day.
Key Provisions:
- Travelers must get tested within three days prior to landing in NY, quarantine for at least three days upon arrival, and get a test on day four of arrival.
- If travelers receive a negative test on day four of quarantine they may exit quarantine when they receive a negative result
- States that are bordering with New York continue to be excused from quarantine protocol — essential workers also continue to be exempted
- Travelers who were only out of state for less than 24 hours do not need to quarantine but must get a test on day four of arrival back in NY
- All travelers covered by the advisory must continue to fill out traveler health form upon arrival into New York State
Governor Cuomo’s strict, new mandate, which exempts New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, eliminates the Governor’s travel and quarantine advisory list, which restricted travel from over forty (40) coronavirus jurisdictions across the United States.
Significantly, States that are contiguous with New York are explicitly exempted from the Test Out Guidance, including travel to Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. As discussed hereinabove, travelers returning to NYS do not have to quarantine upon their return to the State, due to the interconnected and contiguous nature of these States relative to New York.
Effective November 4, 2020, travelers coming from hot spot states are able to opt into shorter isolation periods. “If you’re coming to the State of New York, within three days of arriving… you must have tested negative and have proof of a test,” Cuomo said on a conference call. “Once you arrive… you must quarantine for three days and then can take a test on the fourth day… if the test on the fourth day says you are negative then, you’re released from quarantine.”
TO OPT INTO SHORTER ISOLATION:
- take a COVID test 72 hours before traveling to New York and receive a negative test result
- upload those results online;
- quarantine for three days;
- take a second COVID-19 test on the fourth day; and
- If the second test comes back negative, they no longer have to quarantine.
Travelers to NYS must show proof of a negative test taken within three (3) days of arriving in New York State, and must also quarantine for three (3) more days and get another COVID-19 test on the fourth day. If the test is positive for coronavirus, the traveler must self-isolate for two (2) weeks. Any person who refuses to test must quarantine for fourteen (14) days.
Any New Yorker who travels outside of the state, but returns home within a twenty-four (24) hour period, must take a test within four (4) days of their arrival back home; however, the state will not require New York residents to test before coming back into the state. If the New York resident is gone for more than a 24-hour period, the new rules apply.
To ensure compliance, the governor’s office says the health department will continue to meet those arriving from states with high infection rates at airports.
According to officials, state employees will be there to confirm test results and have travelers fill out forms with information on where they are staying so that contact tracers can follow up with them during their quarantine — something they say is already happening under the current travel policy.
Officials say travelers who refuse to fill out the form after arriving from a hot spot state could face a $2,000 fine along with a mandatory quarantine.
Learn more about New York’s guidelines by visiting our COVID-19 Resource Center, or by contacting the legal professionals at Tiveron Law, PLLC at 716-636-7600.