You'll need to fill out health forms before checking in for your next New York City vacation
New York City will now require those traveling from the U.S. states and territories on its restricted-travel list to complete a health-declaration form before checking in to a hotel or short-term vacation rental property in the city, as reported by the New York Daily News.
The State of New York, along with neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut, has required a 14-day quarantine upon arrival since June of this year.
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More recently, the city has set up checkpoints at major points of entry to collect health histories and the contact information of travelers to aid in enforcing its quarantine rules. The list of restricted states is determined by those places that have an infection rate of 10 per 100,000 people based on a seven-day rolling average.
The eight-step New York State Traveler Health Form can be found online, and if you're staying in a hotel or vacation rental property, such as an Airbnb, you'll be required to show confirmation of the completed form -- either by printing it out or showing a screenshot -- to the person who is checking you in.
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The form asks questions about health and travel history as well as contact information so the state can more easily stay in touch with a given person for contact-tracing and quarantine-compliance purposes.
The city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, said that those who cannot produce a completed form upon arrival should not be given access to their room or property. Under the city's executive order, anyone who fails to comply could be charged with a Class-B misdemeanor and face fines and/or other penalties.
New York City and state have seen infection rates drop to very low levels after being the epicenter of the virus for the entire world for quite some time. The 14-day quarantine requirement -- along with the setting up of health checkpoints around the city and now the requirement for hotels and vacation-rental properties to collect the traveler health form -- are all measures designed to fend off a second wave of infections in the tri-state area.
If you do have to travel to New York and are originating in one of the 35 states or territories on its restricted list, make sure you fill out the Traveler Health Form before you travel, and either print your confirmation page or have a screenshot ready to ensure the process is as smooth as possible. Otherwise, you'll need to fill out a paper copy upon arrival. Be sure to have a pen handy!