A few weeks ago it was announced that New York would end its domestic quarantine requirement. Well, it’s a big day for New York, as that new policy has kicked in as of today.
New York ends domestic travel quarantine
As of April 1, 2021, New York has eliminated its quarantine requirement for domestic travelers. This applies both to those visiting New York, and to New Yorkers returning home. There are a few things to note about this updated policy:
- NYS Department of Health still recommends quarantining after domestic travel as an added precaution, but it’s not required
- Mandatory quarantine remains in effect for arriving international travelers (those not coming from a US state or territory)
- All travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form when arriving in the state, and must monitor symptoms daily for 14 days
- All travelers must self-isolate if any symptoms develop
This policy change was announced a few weeks back by Governor Andrew Cuomo, who said the following:
“New Yorkers have shown strength and perseverance throughout this entire pandemic, and it shows through the numbers that continue to decrease every day. As we work to build our vaccination infrastructure even further and get more shots in arms, we’re making significant progress in winning the footrace between the infection rate and the vaccination rate, allowing us to open new sectors of our economy and start our transition to a new normal in a post-pandemic world. As part of that transition, quarantine for domestic travelers is no longer required, but it is still being advised as an added precaution.”
Meanwhile New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed opposition to this change:
“I don’t know if that’s the state’s idea of an April Fool’s joke but it is absolutely the wrong thing to do. It’s reckless it doesn’t help us with our recovery.”
New York’s previous quarantine policy
New York initially introduced a travel quarantine requirement in the summer of 2020, though we’ve seen the policy changed several times since then. Here’s New York’s quarantine requirement that applied through yesterday, March 31, 2021:
- Travelers needed to quarantine for 10 days, or travelers needed to quarantine for four days, then get tested, and could then be released after getting a negative result
- Travelers from Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, weren’t subjected to this rule
- Those who had been fully vaccinated within the past 90 days weren’t subjected to this rule
While New York’s quarantine requirement had been in place on paper for a long time, in reality it hadn’t been closely enforced, unlike Hawaii’s testing and quarantine policy, which is closely monitored.
Bottom line
New York has ended its domestic quarantine requirement as of today, April 1, 2021.
Personally I’m happy to see this finally lifted, as it shows how much we’re moving in the right direction big-picture, with mass vaccinations now happening. Either that, or it just shows that New York is no longer doing much better than the rest of the country, as the state has seen a relative spike in cases in recent months.
Beyond that, though, I’m happy to see this policy change because of how poorly it was enforced, essentially penalizing those who wanted to play by the rules, while in no way punishing those who violated the rules. Now all the New Yorkers returning from Florida and immediately going about their normal lives aren’t doing anything illegal anymore. 😉
What do you make of New York lifting its domestic quarantine requirement?
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