Travelers must test for COVID-19 before and after visiting New York, says Governor Cuomo

NEW YORK -- Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York is moving away from the Tri-State Travel Advisory and will now require people coming to the state to test negative.

The newly unveiled quarantine policy will do away with the current Tri-State Travel Advisory list and now mandates that anyone visiting the state must test negative or quarantine for 14 days with the exception of residents from contiguous states New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

"There will be no quarantine list, there will be no metrics," Cuomo said. "If you are coming into New York within three days you must have tested negative. Once you arrive in New York, you must quarantine for three days and can take a test on the fourth day."

Travelers must also have proof that they tested negative upon arrival, and must quarantine for three days.

Cuomo says that if on the fourth day you test negative, you're released from quarantine. However, if a person tests positive, they must remain quarantined.

The governor also outlined scenarios for New Yorkers who travel outside of the state.

He says that New York residents can travel to another state for 24 hours or less, come back and take a test within four days upon arrival.

Or New York residents, and everyone else, can stay in another state for as long as they want. Before they get on a plane, they must take a test within three days of the flight, and test negative.

The traveler then flies, lands in New York and must quarantine for three days. On the fourth day, they can get tested, and if they test negative, "you go about your business."

The announcement comes on the heels of 2,049 reported positive COVID cases in the state based on 136,962 reported tests.

Based on Friday's results, the governor says the state positivity rate is 1.49% -- but is a lower 1.3% when excluding microcluster zones.

"That's good news. That's very good news," Cuomo said. "New York is the third lowest positivity rate in the nation, according to Johns Hopkins. Third to Maine and Vermont."

In addition, eight deaths and 1,121 hospitalizations were reported.

Cuomo stressed the need for the new travel policy especially with Thanksgiving approaching.

"Just because they're your family, doesn't mean they're safe from COVID," Cuomo said. "And that's where we're seeing increases."