New York will introduce COVID-19 control sites for incoming passengers at its two largest airports as a component of the in-control effort to prevent travelers from bringing coronavirus to the state.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced monday the planned sites for the John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in Queens, saying it would allow the state to more temporarily determine whether incoming travelers have the virus in the midst of a global pandemic.
“Lately we are establishing control sites at our airports. We’ll review other people who come in, adding hospital staff, faster,” Cuomo said Monday at a news convention on Long Island.
Cuomo did not provide main points on when testing will be implemented, the charge to incoming travelers, or what happens when the tests test positive. USA TODAY contacted your workplace and port authority to learn the main points of the plan.
New York City was the hardest hit in the early days of the pandemic, with more than 25,000 state citizens succumbing to the cases shown COVID-19 since early March.
Since then, the state has reduced their infection rate to one of the lowest in the country and implemented a strict quarantine order for travelers from states with higher COVID-19 rates, forcing them to isolate themselves for 14 days upon arrival in New York.
Those arriving on flights from the states involved must complete a form with their local touch on the form and where they intend to quarantine. Failure to complete the form before leaving the airport may result in a $2,000 fine.
Cuomo said coronavirus sites in JFK and LaGuardia will be established through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (which manages airports) and New York City Health Hospitals, which are run by the city’s public hospitals and clinics.
More: Delaware, Alaska added to quarantine for NY, NJ and CT
Jon Campbell is a New York State Government Reporter for USA TODAY. It can be contacted on [email protected] or twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.
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