Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s COVID-19 contact tracing team is frantically trying to locate people who have come into contact with a New York high school student who contracted the coronavirus on a recent trip to Florida.
The unidentified student allegedly infected four of their peers from Horace Greeley High School in Westerchester County during a drive-in graduation event last Saturday night.
At the time, the student had not yet developed symptoms of the virus and did not know they were infected. They had also returned to New York before Cuomo ordered a 14-day quarantine for those arriving from out-of-state coronavirus hot spots – including Florida.
‘We’re prepared to do the aggressive testing and contact tracing required to slow and ultimately control any potential clusters of new cases like the one in Westchester County,’ Cuomo stated Friday
Gov. Andrew Cuomo ‘s COVID-19 contact tracing team is frantically trying to locate people who came into contact with a New York high school student who contracted the coronavirus on a recent trip to Florida
on Thursday that people flying into New York from higher-risk coronavirus states would be traced once they landed to ensure they were following the 14-day quarantine he has imposed.
Cuomo only announced that rule on Wednesday, saying people who come to New York, New Jersey or Connecticut from any state where infections are greater than 10 people per 100,000 residents would be subject to a 14-day quarantine when they arrive.
As of Thursday that applies to nine states; Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
On Thursday morning, Cuomo told CNN that it would be enforced by tracking people who fly in to New York and subjecting them to random checks.
‘You fly into New York, we’ll have your name, we’ll know where you’re supposed to be staying.
Cuomo warned on Thursday that people flying into New York will be subject to random calls ups by
‘There will be random checks. You get pulled over by a police officer and he looks at where your residence is, how long have you been here, if you get sick and go to a hospital from out state and you test positive and you’ve been out of the 14 days…you’ve violated the law and you’re going to have a problem,’ he said.
‘We know people who fly in, we know what flight you came in on, we’ll have inspectors that are randomly calling names on the list to make sure you’re quarantining and if you’re not, you’re in violation of the law and you’ll be fined.
‘I think most people are going to honor it,’ Cuomo said.
If a person is caught having traveled to New York from one of the high risk states and they are not quarantining, they can be fined $2,000.
If they are caught a second time, the fine is $5,000 and if they are found to have ’caused harm’, they face a fine of $10,000.
Cuomo said New York’s slow reopening plan had been ‘vindicated’ by the fact its numbers continue to decrease while other states are seeing spikes.
New York City is currently in phase two which allows outdoor dining and haircuts.
Phase three – when indoor dining at 50 percent capacity and nail salons will resume – is due to open on July 6.
Forcing people to quarantine from other, high risk states, he said, was ‘just common sense’.
‘We do not want the virus coming in on a plane again,’ he said.
For the last three days, the average number of people dying across the state was 17. At its worst in April, the number was nearly 800.
There are now fewer than 1,000 people in the hospital with COVID-19. At the height of the pandemic, that number was more than 18,000.
Hospitalizations in New York City are now less than 1,000 for the first time since March
Cuomo shared a slide showing the states where coronavirus numbers continue to rise
An Apple employee in New York City takes the temperature of a customer before allowing them inside the store
A water at Cipriani’s Downtown in New York City on June 24 wearing a mask and gloves
Twenty-seven states are still seeing rising coronavirus case numbers and rising hospitalization numbers.
Seven states hit their highest coronavirus hospitalizations this week.
Texas, which was one of the first states to start reopening back in April, has also reached an all-time high of new cases leading Republican Governor Greg Abbott to backpedal on efforts to get back to business as usual and tell people not to leave the house unless they need to.
In Florida, where new cases surged 87 percent last week, Governor Ron DeSantis warned Tuesday he will be cracking down on bars and restaurants that flout social distancing guidelines, after reports of large parties across the state.
A similar hard line is being adopted in New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday, in response to images circulated on social media which showed large crowds gathering at newly reopened bars and restaurants.
Experts are warning that the nationwide increase in infections is largely coming from a spike in cases among young people who are ignoring social distancing measures and testing positive for the virus.
‘You are putting people’s lives in jeopardy,’ Cuomo said of the states that reopened ‘too early’.
Just over 820 Americans died from coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total death toll to more than 121,000. It is the highest number of daily deaths recorded in the past week after fatality rates started declining nationwide
New cases in the US have been surging for more than a week after trending down for over six weeks. Nearly 35,000 new cases were reported on Tuesday, which is down from the record 36,000 infections that were logged on April 24