In a taste of what may be ahead for Connecticut, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is tightening quarantine orders for of out-of-state travelers from areas with high rates of COVID-19.
Cuomo said Monday that travelers from the 19 states now on the restricted list will be required to fill out a form that includes the address of where they will be for the mandatory 14-day quarantine, or there will be immediate repercussions.
“It will be enforced in every airport in the state of New York,” Cuomo said.
Violators who don’t turn in the forms will face an automatic $2,000 fine and may be called to a hearing before a judge to arrange a mandatory supervised quarantine.
The governor issued the rules after incidences upstate of travelers from Georgia and Florida spreading the virus, two states on the restricted list. Cuomo says New York now has very low rates of COVID-19, with just 10 deaths on Sunday, and he does not want to see the virus rate increase because of infection brought in from other states.
The leader of the minority party Republicans in the Senate, Robert Ortt, says Cuomo’s order infringes on civil rights.
“This overreach of power violates the civil liberties of New Yorkers and citizens across this country, who do not need the government to threaten fines and quarantines in order to travel responsibly,” Ortt said in a statement. “This is putting an unwelcome mat at New York’s door. Such severe action will keep people and their dollars away, at a time when our businesses need them most.”
Ortt encouraged civil liberties groups to challenge the order in court.
