New York mayor says deputies will check on UK arrivals to make sure they’re quarantining

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced that deputies will check on arrivals from the United Kingdom to make sure they’re quarantining amid concerns over a new COVID-19 strain found in England.

The mayor said in a news conference on Wednesday that all international travelers coming into the city will receive a “personal and direct” quarantine order from the Department of Health Commissioner’s office.

However, de Blasio said that New York City sheriff’s deputies will personally visit the home or hotel of every traveler from the U.K. to confirm that they are following quarantine order.

“We cannot take chances with anyone that’s traveling, particularly folks traveling in from the U.K.,” de Blasio said.

Any traveler who violates the order will be fined $1,000 on the first day, and an additional $1,000 for each day, regardless of where their trip originated.

Travel bans from the U.K. piled up earlier this week as countries moved to curb the spread of the mutated strain of the virus, which is thought to be more infectious.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) slammed the Trump administration on Sunday for not banning U.K. travel in light of the new strain.

“The United States has a number of flights coming in from the U.K. each day and we have done absolutely nothing,” Cuomo said. “To me, this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the spring.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that the new strain may have already made it to the U.S. without being detected.