New York City adding ‘key entry point’ checkpoints to enforce quarantine

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Wednesday announced that officials will start adding checkpoints at “key points of entry” in the city as part of its efforts to ensure compliance with coronavirus quarantine requirements for travelers from multiple other states.

De Blasio said during a press briefing that the checkpoints will be positioned at major bridge and tunnel crossings that lead into New York City. Travelers coming from any of the 34 designated states and territories with high coronavirus transmission rates will be required to fill out a state health department traveler form and quarantine for two weeks.

“New Yorkers have worked too hard to beat back COVID-19 — we cannot lose that progress,” de Blasio said in a series of tweets. “Thirty-five states have dangerously high infection rates. We won’t let the virus spread here.”

New York City’s COVID-19 infection rate has been under 3% for two months. That’s extraordinary and it’s because of YOU. We’ve seen what’s possible when we all work together. Let’s go even further.

— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) August 5, 2020

“New York City’s COVID-19 infection rate has been under 3 percent for two months,” he added. “That’s extraordinary and it’s because of YOU. We’ve seen what’s possible when we all work together. Let’s go even further.”

Once the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, the New York metropolitan area has seen a marked drop in infections in recent months. The decrease in cases has coincided with a surge in other parts of the U.S. 

In June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) mandated that travelers entering New York from states with high transmission rates be required to quarantine for a period of 14 days. The original order only applied to nine states, but it has since ballooned to more than 30. Cuomo said in July that travelers who refused to provide information to authorities could face a $2,000 fine and court summons. 

Travelers who enter New York by arriving at one of the state’s airports are also required to fill out forms for contact-tracing purposes, NBC New York reported.

The mayor’s office is planning to begin public outreach at Penn Station about the new policies starting Thursday. The New York Sheriff’s Office, in accordance with other law enforcement agencies, will administer the traveler checkpoints, Sheriff Joseph Fucito said.