Three more states as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. have been added to the tri-state travel advisory as coronavirus cases continue to soar across the country.
The governors of New York and New Jersey announced on Tuesday that Illinois, Minnesota, Puerto Rico and D.C. are now on the list of states that face a 14-day quarantine under a joint travel order issued last month.
The additions are based on whether a region’s seven-day rolling average of positive tests exceeds 10 per cent, or if the number of positive cases exceeds 10 per 100,000 residents.
A total of 36 states and territories are now included in the tri-state travel advisory as coronavirus cases continue to soar across the country
New York governor Cuomo and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy added three more states as well as Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. to their joint travel order requiring travelers to quarantine upon arrival
A total of 36 states and territories now make up the growing list of coronavirus hotspots which has included Texas, California and Florida for weeks.
Minnesota was added for a second time on Tuesday after it had been removed last week when its positivity rate fell 10 percent.
Delaware and Washington state were also re-added last week after having been removed from a previous version of the list.
Governor Cuomo last week warned the order will be strictly enforced by requiring travelers to fill out quarantine paperwork upon arrival and those who fail to do so would be subject to a $2,000 fine.
As of Monday, there were 412,878 confirmed cases in the state and a total of 25,126 deaths.
Cuomo has expressed worry that infection rates in hard-hit New York could once again rise because of travel from high-risk states.
New York hospitals saw over 18,000 patients with COVID-19 at a time in mid-April when infections surged and more than 750 COVID-19 patients died each day in hospitals and nursing homes.
Those figures plunged in May, and rates of hospitalizations and new positive COVID-19 cases have been relatively stable since June.
Cuomo said 0.93 per cent of 57,000 tests conducted Monday were positive, and nursing homes and hospitals reported nine people with COVID-19 died.
State lawmakers are holding hearings about the impact of COVID-19 on New York, with Tuesday’s hearing focusing on higher education.
Cuomo faces decisions on legislation addressing the pandemic passed by the state Senate and Assembly last week, including bills that address the expected surge in mail-in voting this fall by ensuring certain absentee ballots without a postmark are accepted and making it easier for voters to request absentee ballots earlier and fix deficient ballots.
The governor has said he’s concerned about reports of people failing to wear masks or stay six feet apart in populous New York City and Long Island.
The state has suspended the liquor licenses of an additional dozen, mostly Latin restaurants in several Queens neighborhoods – including Jackson Heights and Corona, both at the epicenter of the pandemic in New York City – as a result of Cuomo’s amped up enforcement.
Since late March, the Cuomo administration has suspended the liquor licenses of 45 businesses – with 25 in Queens or the Bronx.
‘New Yorkers have worked hard to flatten the curve, but the bars and restaurants that ignore public health guidance are disrespecting their sacrifices which have saved lives while allowing us to sustain the reopening of our economy,’ Cuomo said.
On Friday the State Liquor Authority issued 52 violations, 53 on Saturday and 27 on Sunday to restaurants and bars that violated social distancing and face-mask mandates.
Over the weekend 10 establishments had their liquor licenses suspended altogether.
Some bars saw slaps on the wrist for failing to provide ‘substantial food’ along with alcohol orders, in accordance with a new State Liquor Authority guidance.
On Friday the State Liquor Authority issued 52 violations, 53 on Saturday and 27 on Sunday to restaurants and bars that violated social distancing and face-mask mandates. A view of patrons wearing masks at a restaurant in Koreatown on Sunday above, as New York continues with Phase 4 of re-opening
In nearby New Jersey an outdoor bar was forced to close for two days after an employee tested positive for coronavirus, a day after the business was packed with patrons who failed to wear masks and practice social distancing.
‘I want establishments to know that we will continue to diligently enforce the law. That’s what this is – it’s enforcing the law,’ Cuomo said Monday at his coronavirus press briefing.
‘Sunday is a more quiet night, but even on a Sunday 27 more violations,’ he said.
He added most of the violations were based in New York City and all of Sunday’s citations were from all five boroughs of the city.
