Domestic travelers to New York can isolate for just four days if they provide a negative COVID test before entering state
New York's new policy comes into force today allowing travelers arriving in the state to isolate for just four days so long as they provide a negative COVID test before entering.
People entering the Empire State must provide a negative coronavirus test three days before their arrival, followed by a second negative test four days after arriving if they want to avoid a two-week mandatory quarantine.
Between their arrival and the second negative test travelers must isolate but once the second test comes back negative they are free to move around the state.
However, if the traveler fails to follow the new testing rules, they will be required to complete a 14-day quarantine.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the new rule Saturday to take effect from Wednesday providing a more amenable alternative to the previous rule of a two-week mandatory quarantine for all travelers from hotspot states.
Cuomo's office confirmed to DailyMail.com that the rules also apply to New York residents returning to the state from vacation, meaning residents face the difficult task of finding a testing site on holiday in order to comply with the rules in order to avoid quarantine.
Passengers arrive into JFK Airport last month. New York's new policy comes into force today allowing travelers arriving in the state to isolate for just four days if they provide a negative COVID test before entering
Cuomo announced Saturday he was scrapping the state's current list that requires residents of most other US states to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in New York.
Under the new rules, out-of-state travelers must follow the new process and test negative twice for the virus.
Travelers from neighboring states New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts as well as essential workers continue to be exempt from the rules.
Also exempt are travelers who have been out of the state for less than 24 hours.
These travelers do not need to quarantine but must still test negative on day four.
'We have to come up with a new policy for quarantine and I said last week that we were working with global health experts on a new policy,' the governor said Saturday.
'And all the experts suggest we shift to a testing policy. And that's what we're going to do.'
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the new rule Saturday to take effect from Wednesday providing a more amenable alternative to the previous rule of a two-week mandatory quarantine for all travelers from hotspot states
He said the new testing policy for out-of-town arrivals was based on the fact it can take up to seven days for COVID-19 to appear on a test from the time that the person was initially infected.
'Four days plus three days is seven days and that's basically by all probability the incubation period and that's the policy,' he said.
Based on this theory, it remains unclear why travelers cannot take a test on day one of arriving into New York and again on day seven, amounting to the same testing process but a less punitive seven-day rather than 14-day quarantine.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the governor's office for comment.
The sweeping reform replaces the state's quarantine list of states where travelers were required to quarantine for 14 days if arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.
The number of states on the list has ballooned of late, with 41 states currently on the list as cases surge across America.
New York state - once the virus epicenter - has the third lowest positivity rate of all states with a rate of 1.81 percent. Pictured the state's seven-day average case count
Cuomo announced another uptick in cases in New York Tuesday, something he blamed on the surge in other parts of the US.
'New York State's progress is threatened by national surge in cases - we must remain NY Tough,' he said.
Cuomo announced 14 new deaths from coronavirus and 2,321 cases.
The ongoing rise comes as double the number of New Yorkers tested positive for the virus in October than in September, with almost 50,000 infections recorded last month.
Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that 'huge restrictions' could be on the horizon for the Big Apple after what he described as a 'meaningful jump' in infections.
The growth in New York is indicative of the nationwide trend, with the US recording its five highest days of cases on record in the days running up to the election.
On Friday, 99,321 new cases were recorded nationwide, marking the highest single day tally of infections for both America and any country worldwide.
New York state - once the virus epicenter - has the third lowest positivity rate of all states with a rate of 1.81 percent.
