Travelers headed to New York from Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland and Montana will no longer have to quarantine for 14 days, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.
But the two-week mandatory quarantine imposed on travelers visiting New York, New Jersey and Connecticut from states with high coronavirus positivity rates will stay in place, the New York Post reports.
The decision to keep the travel advisory comes days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lifted its recommendation that travelers self-quarantine. The CDC still advises travelers to follow "state, territorial, tribal and local recommendations or requirements after travel."
"The pandemic is not over," Cuomo said in a press release discussing the travel advisory.
On Tuesday, Guam was added to the list of 30 states and U.S. territories that must quarantine upon arrival.
But at least one city lawmaker thinks Cuomo needs to ditch the mandatory quarantine for domestic visitors.
"The quarantine is illogical and irrelevant. It's only serving to undermine New York's recovery," Councilman Joe Borelli, R-S.I., told the newspaper.
Borelli said he just returned from a vacation in Maryland, which had been on New York's quarantine list until Tuesday.
He ripped the quarantine rule as "unenforceable and therefore pointless." He told the newspaper it is "hurting tourism, hurting business and discouraging family visitation."
In a press release, Cuomo touted the travel advisory as one of the reasons the state's infection rate has remained so low.
"New Yorkers made enormous sacrifices to get our numbers as low as they are today, and we don't want to give up an inch of that hard-earned progress," Cuomo said. "That's why these travel advisory precautions are so important — we don't want people who travel to states with high community spread to bring the virus back here. While it's good news that five states have been removed from the travel advisory, the list remains far too long as America continues to struggle with COVID-19. New Yorkers should stay vigilant and be careful — wear a mask, socially distance, and be smart. This pandemic is not over."
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