Coronavirus Health Form For Travelers Visiting New York
By: Jasmine Cuza
New York City Travel Health Form for incoming tourists.
New York City, once the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus at the beginning of 2020 has now made strict changes with its travel regulations. The first case of COVID-19 in the city was confirmed on Mar. 1, 2020, and by Apr. 10, 2020, the cases of the virus skyrocketed to 12,000. By mid-March Gov. Cuomo took matters into his own hands and ordered a strict lockdown throughout the city of New York. Many schools and businesses were forced to shut their doors and 1.6 million people were left without jobs. The city was in lockdown for 100 days and throughout those days COVID-19 had claimed the lives of over 15,000 New Yorkers.
As of Jun. 25, 2020, Gov. Cuomo passed Executive Order 205 which states that any outsiders traveling to New York from a state with significant community spread of COVID-19 must quarantine within the city of New York for 14 days. Travelers must also sign a “New York Traveler Health Form” which will be distributed on arrival by airports, email or travelers can find the form on the COVID-19 travel advisory website. The health forms contain a number of questions regarding transportation into New York and the duration of the stay. The form also requires the traveler to write down if they have experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 before their visit and a trustworthy email and phone number. Anybody who leaves any New York airport without signing the form on their arrival will be fined $2,000 and could potentially face jail time or be forced by city officials to do a mandatory quarantine. Travelers staying in the city less than 24 hours or essential workers are exempt from the 14-day quarantine policy but still need to fill out the health form.
Hotels in New York and many rental stay companies such as Airbnb have sent out the health form through email and their websites for incoming travelers. Travelers who do not show proof of signing the form will not be allowed to stay on the premises until they fill it out. This is all part of keeping the community safe and preventing the spread of the virus. Airports are also making an effort to check every individual that exits each plane and making sure they have filled out the form. Travelers can also fill out the health form inside the airport before they leave into the city.
With fall and winter right around the corner, Gov. Cuomo encourages that the people of New York and new travelers coming into the area follow social distancing guidelines and wear masks. New York is slowly opening its borders back up after long months of lockdown. New York faces threats of new coronavirus cases due to its population but with new strict regulations, the cases of the virus will hopefully go down. It is up to the people of New York and those out of state to cooperate with these new regulations and help keep the community safe for the cold and flu season.