Coronavirus Travel Advisory: Passengers Arriving At NYC Airports Must Fill Out Health Form Or Face Up To $2,000 Fine
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Phil Murphy are tightening the restrictions on travel into our area, adding four new states to the hot spot quarantine list.
There's also enforcement beginning Tuesday at New York airports, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported.
The four states added to the advisory list are Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin, bringing the total to 22. Delaware has been taken off the list.
Travelers from any of the identified states to New York or New Jersey must quarantine for 14 days.
Web Extra: Tri-State Area Travel Advisory Page
Here's how it works at airports: When a traveler arrives at the gate they must have a new Department of Health form filled out. They will be met by an enforcement team, which will check phones or paperwork to confirm. If the form is not filled out, the traveler could face a hefty fine.
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Craig Davis landed at LaGuardia from Georgia, one of the spiking states, and told Duddridge about the process.
"Just basic questions, like what state are you coming from? Have you been around anybody who has had any symptoms of the virus," said Davis, who came in from Atlanta. "I'm not sure what to think yet, because I haven't studied it, but if it's to keep the virus down, I'll give it a thumb's up."
Passengers either get the form before boarding or in the air, and also can fill it out electronically. It asks for contact information, where the traveler plans to stay, and if you are traveling from a state designated as having a significant amount of community spread. If so, it advises that you must quarantine for two weeks.
Duddridge couldn't find anyone at LaGuardia who objected.
"Because there are definitely spikes in other states, so I think it's necessary," one traveler said.
MORE: Air Travel In Coronavirus Age: CBS2 Gets Firsthand Look At Safety Precautions At Area Airports
The new measures apply to anyone who arrives by air, car, bus, or train, but doesn't apply to essential workers or someone just passing through a state within a 24-hour period.
"I'm only here for a day, so it doesn't affect me, really. I'm kind of happy about that. But I think that's a good idea for them to put that in place. Just because I know a lot of people are using this downtime to go to other states, get vacations out of it," said Najoua Alioualla, who arrived from Chicago.
Driving your own car into the state is obviously more difficult to enforce, but even at the airport, a more controlled environment, one passenger told Duddridge she slipped through the cracks.
"Nobody's even stopping people to say anything. I just seen the sign, so I stopped," said Atalia Grice, who flew in from Washington.
If you don't fill out a form, you could face a fine of up to $2,000. What's more, if you violate a quarantine order, you could face a $10,000 penalty, the state said.
Watch Jessica Layton's report --
Christy Flynn is trying to figure out what it means for plans to bring her son Kyle to college at Xavier in Cincinnati.
"I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before Ohio was added," she told CBS2's Jessica Layton. "We have to move him in three weeks and to not know what's going on is, it's just, it's starting to get really frustrating."
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The mandate was announced Monday as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to help contain the rate of coronavirus spread.
"None of this is pleasant, but we've gone through this before. We went through this, watched 3 million Europeans, people from Europe, come into this state, and bringing the virus. Fool me once. We can't be in a situation where we have people coming from other states in the country, bringing the virus," Cuomo said.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday said it's possible New Jersey could implement similar measures.
"We'll do it our own way, but we're deadly serious about this. This is a travel advisory," Murphy said. "We knew when we opened our state up we'd take on more risk of transmission of the virus. But there's an added element from folks who are coming in from out of state, from hotspots."
What passengers landing in New York said they aren't sure about is if the state will be following up with them to make sure they're staying at home.
"I'm kind of confused, too, because I mean also it seems like paperwork gets lost super easy, so who knows? I'll be quarantining. I don't think they said anything up there, but I know that should be what everyone's doing," Andrea Baxter said.
"You gotta put your address. You got to make sure you're there for 14 days. I'm guessing they're going to give you a visit within those 14 days you're supposed to be quarantining?" said traveler Michael Carter, who is quarantining in New York City.
Duddridge asked the Gov. Cuomo's Office, which responded by saying all cases where a quarantine is necessary are being referred to the local health department for compliance and follow up.
So, yes, expect to be contacted.
