6 States Removed From New York’s COVID-19 Travel Advisory

New Yorkers still must quarantine or face large fines after travel to nearly 60 percent of the country.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced six states, California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio—have been removed from New York State's COVID-19 travel advisory. The Northern Mariana Islands have also been removed. Puerto Rico has been added. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days.

"When other states and territories make progress fighting COVID-19, that's good for New York and while I am glad to see areas removed from the travel advisory list, it still remains far too long," Cuomo said. "Make no mistake: We must continue to be New York Tough and stay smart. Wearing masks, social distancing and hand washing is what tamed this beast in New York and we must keep it up."

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

The full, updated travel advisory list is below:

Alaska
Alabama
Arkansas
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Iowa
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Missouri
Mississippi
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
West Virginia

The travel advisory also requires any New Yorker to quarantine for 14 days after returning from a state on the quarantine list.

Anyone found violating the quarantine will be subject to a judicial order, placed in a mandatory quarantine and fined, Cuomo added.

“You violate the quarantine, you will have to do mandatory quarantine, and you will be fined," Cuomo said.

According to Cuomo, a person found violating the order could be fined $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for a second violation and $10,000 if the person causes "harm."

Cuomo recently announced a travel enforcement operation started at airports across the state to help ensure travelers are following the state's quarantine restrictions and to help contain the rates of COVID-19 transmission in New York State.

Cuomo confirmed travelers will be fined $2,000 if they leave an airport without submitting a contact information form. Information on the form includes contact information and travel plans while in New York. The forms will be handed out online, but can also be filled out online.

The travel advisory doesn't impact essential workers, officials say. Officials also note if you are only passing through a state on the list, meaning you aren't spending more than 24 hours, you also don't have to quarantine.