New York is “not looking to have another lockdown,” Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday, as she insisted that officials are “laser-focused” on containing the alarming rise in coronavirus cases with the state’s strict new testing protocol.
New York’s COVID-19 positivity rate is fourth best in the country — 1.64 percent — behind Vermont (0.62 percent), Alaska (1.34 percent) and Maine (1.42 percent), the latest data from Johns Hopkins University show.
“That’s extraordinary and we’re laser-focused on keeping that down,” Hochul said on WPIX. “But if you’re going to travel, you’re tested when you return, you’re tested three days later and then we’ll have clarity as to whether or not you if you test positive you’re going to have a conversation with a contact tracer.”
Hochul also said the state has “done more testing that any state in the nation.”
“Yesterday alone 141,000 tests were administered. So this is an area we know we’re doing. We’ve excelled at it and we’re going to make sure that we get this right,” she said.
On Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that most people who visit New York will have to quarantine for three days and then prove they are negative for COVID-19 before they are “free to go about their business.”
The strict new mandate — which exempts New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania residents — eliminates the governor’s quarantine advisory list, which restricted travel from over 40 coronavirus hotspots across the country.
Now, travelers must show proof of a negative test taken within three days of arriving in the state, and must also quarantine for three more days — and get a new COVID-19 test on the fourth.
If that’s positive, they must isolate for two weeks, the governor said.
With Joe Biden on the cusp of winning the presidency, Hochul also said a victory by the Democratic candidate would help the state’s economy with a stimulus amid a potential $15 billion deficit during the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 25,000 New Yorkers.
“That’s exactly what we need right now — a healer, a uniter and someone who knows the legislative process to make sure that states like New York can get help from a stimulus plan,” she said.
