Cuomo Announces New Travelers Guidelines

Cuomo Announces New Travelers Guidelines: Following five consecutive record-breaking days of new COVID cases nationwide, Governor Andrew Cuomo urged New Yorkers on Monday to be on high alert during “these dangerous times.” Although New York State has the third lowest positive test rate in the country, it has now passed the threshold of 10.43 new cases per 100,000 population – effectively putting New York on its own quarantine list. All state’s reaching that level of infection, under New York’s plan, were previously placed on a quarantine list that required travelers from that state to quarantine for 14-days after entering New York.

The Silver Lining in Cuomo’s New Testing Plan

With that milestone reached, Cuomo announced over the weekend that he is scrapping New York’s quarantine guidelines for travelers – a dizzying plan that saw states added and subtracted on an almost daily basis and included 41 states as recently as last week. Replacing it is a sweeping new state entry plan that would require tests from all incoming travelers to New York except from Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Under Cuomo’s new testing plan, all travelers to New York, including residents who have been out of state for more than 24 hours must take a COVID test before entering the state, quarantine for three days after entering and repeat the test four days after arriving. The silver lining in Cuomo’s new plan is that if you pass both tests you “test out” of the 14 day quarantine period. Resident travelers who were out of state for less than 24 hours do not need to be tested before re-entry and do not have to quarantine for three days. But do have to fill out the traveler information form upon entry and get a test four days later. See the whole plan here.

Westchester logs most new cases since May 20

The New York State Department of Health reported 149 new COVID cases in Westchester County on Sunday, November 1. The 149 new cases represented a Positive Test Rate of 2.02% compared to the statewide average for the day of 1.51%.  It was Westchester’s largest single day tally of new cases since May 20. It was also Westchester’s sixth consecutive day where new cases exceeded 100. By comparison the state’s designated “Focus Zones” in Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland and Orange Counties averaged 3.1% Positive Test Rate on October 31. Rockland’s Red Zone was 4.2%. Orange County shifted from a Red to Orange Focus Zone last week.

The New York State Department of Health reported 149 new COVID cases in Westchester County on Sunday, November 1. The 149 new cases represented a Positive Test Rate of 2.02% compared to the statewide average for the day of 1.51%.  It was Westchester’s largest single day tally of new cases since May 20. It was also Westchester’s sixth consecutive day where new cases exceeded 100. By comparison the state’s designated “Focus Zones” in Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland and Orange Counties averaged 3.1% Positive Test Rate on October 31. Rockland’s Red Zone was 4.2%. Orange County shifted from a Red to Orange Focus Zone last week.

Westchester has now had 40,946 patients test positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. That’s the fourth highest tally in the state after New York City, (264,155), Nassau County (50,294) and Suffolk County (49,538).