Traveling from SC to NY? Fill out these forms or be fined $2,000, officials say
New York is further tightening its stance against interstate travel, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo announcing Monday that visitors from at least 19 states will face $2,000 fines if they fail to fill out mandatory forms with their travel plans and contact information.
South Carolina is one of the 19 restricted states deemed high-risk by New York health officials, due to coronavirus infection rates. Seeking to prevent new outbreaks, officials are wary of who to let in, and where they go and what they do after they’ve arrived.
“Out-of-state travelers from designated high-COVID states must provide their contact information upon arrival,” Cuomo said in a tweet, adding those who do not, will receive a summons and a $2,000 fine.
“We’re serious about enforcing quarantine.”
New York City went a full day without any coronavirus deaths on Saturday, July 11, the first fatality-free day the city has seen since its first known COVID-19 death on March 11, outlets report.
“New York’s success in fighting the COVID-19 virus is under two threats: lack of compliance and the virus coming to New York from other states with increasing infection rates,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We have already implemented a quarantine order for travelers coming in from states with the highest infection rates, but we are experiencing non-compliance with the order that can lead to outbreaks and threaten the tremendous progress we’ve already made.”
New York, which was the epicenter for the coronavirus for much of the spring, has had 32,390 coronavirus deaths, more than double of any other state in the nation, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The forms will be handed out at all New York airports, and require visitors to answer where they are coming from, where they are going, and to provide their contact information. Forms are also available online.
“Enforcement Teams Will Be Stationed at Port Authority and Regional Airports Beginning Tuesday, July 14th to Request Proof of Completion of State DOH Traveler Form,” according to the statement.
People coming to the state by car or train, or any other means, must fill out the traveler form also, the statement said. It’s unclear how it would be enforced for such travelers.
The state requires its own residents to quarantine for 14 days after visiting South Carolina and other states with high COVID activity, McClatchy News reported. Kansas, New Jersey and Connecticut also have South Carolina on their quarantine lists.
On Saturday, a record 2,239 new coronavirus cases were reported by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, according to The State.
South Carolina had 58,003 total confirmed cases as of Monday, and 961 deaths — 13 of which were reported that day.
This story was originally published July 13, 2020 at 5:46 PM.