Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a change in the quarantine requirements for those traveling into or returning to New York State. Effective November 4, 2020, any staff member or student who travels to another state, other than those contiguous to New York, may “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine to return to in-person work or school. Travel to and from states contiguous to New York (Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) are exempt from the quarantine requirements.
Any staff member or student who was in another state for more than 24 hours, and would like to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine must:
- Obtain a COVID-19 diagnostic test in that other state within 3 days of departure from that state;
- Upon arrival in New York, complete the travel form and quarantine for 3 days; and
- On the fourth day, obtain another COVID-19 test.
If both tests are negative, the employee or student may exit quarantine and return to in-person work or school. (Approval required by the school prior to returning.)
Staff and students who were in another state for less than 24 hours do not need to obtain a COVID-19 diagnostic test prior to departing the state or quarantine for 3 days, but must complete the travel form upon entry to New York State and obtain a COVID-19 diagnostic test 4 days after arrival in New York.
As with the original travel restrictions, local health departments will validate tests, if necessary, and if a test comes back positive, will issue isolation orders and initiate contact tracing. The local health departments are expected to contact the state the traveler came from, to ensure contact tracing proceeds there as well.
If you have any questions about this updated travel advisory, please contact the NYS Coronavirus Hotline at 1-888-364-3065 or Ask a Question. You can also contact the East Greenbush CSD COVID-19 Coordinator Karen Vincent at VincentKa@egcsd.org.
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