Coronavirus contact tracing: New York imposes $2,000 fine for noncompliant out-of-state travelers
Depending on where you’re coming from, a visit to New York could set you back $2,000 if you don’t have the right paperwork.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) issued an “emergency health order” on Monday indicating that visitors from 19 states — nearly half of the country— must provide their contact information upon arrival. Failure to comply will result in a $2,000 summons.
“We’re serious about enforcing quarantine,” Gov. Cuomo tweeted.
New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey announced last month a travel advisory mandating visitors from states with active outbreaks must self-quarantine for 14-days upon their arrival.
The new advisory includes visitors from 19 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
New York, previously the epicenter of the pandemic, has seen cases decline over the last two months while infections have risen across the country. Monday’s emergency health order comes one day after New York City reached a milestone: no COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic’s arrival four months ago.
The latest order supports increased contact tracing, which is the process of mapping or cataloging the recent interactions had by someone who’s tested positive for a virus.
“Contact tracing is an essential part of the process of getting infectious diseases under control,” University of Washington Dean for Public Health Practice Janet Baseman told Yahoo Finance’s On The Move (video above). “We’ve been doing it for quite a long time pre-COVID pandemic.”
Once someone who is contact traced tests positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, their network of contacts is alerted and told to consider self-quarantine for 14 days while also mapping their recent encounters with others.
Stephanie is a reporter for Yahoo Money and Cashay, a new personal finance website. Follow her on Twitter @SJAsymkos.
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