NY governor seeks to toughen requirement that travelers report states they came from

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would issue an order requiring travelers from certain states to give authorities information about where they came from — or face fines and a court summons.

The order will apply to travelers from states on New York’s quarantine list, which currently includes 19 states. Travelers arriving in New York from any of those states will have to fill out a form detailing their contact information, where they came from and where they’re going.

Travelers will have to give the form to authorities before leaving the airport. Airlines will hand out the forms on flights and they’ll also be available online, Cuomo said.

If a traveler leaves the airport without providing the required information, they’ll face a $2,000 fine and a court summons. The traveler could ultimately be ordered by a court to complete a mandatory quarantine, Cuomo said.

“New York’s success in fighting the COVID-19 virus is under two threats: lack of compliance and the virus coming to New York from other states with increasing infection rates,” Cuomo said. “We have already implemented a quarantine order for travelers coming in from states with the highest infection rates, but we are experiencing non-compliance with the order that can lead to outbreaks and threaten the tremendous progress we’ve already made.”

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be responsible for enforcing the new requirement in the New York City area. Local airports will enforce the rule in the rest of the state, Cuomo said.

Late last month, New York began requiring 14-day, self-quarantines for travelers from states where the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly.

Cuomo initially said the state would use random checks to ensure compliance. He also mentioned asking airlines to hand out forms to gather information about incoming travelers.

The current states on the quarantine list are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.