AIRLINES AGREE TO
Cuomo request for travelers to have negative COVID
ALBANY — Three airlines agreed to Gov. Cuomo’s request Monday to require negative COVID tests for travelers flying into New York from the United Kingdom.
The request came as a growing number of countries close their borders to Brits amid fears of a highly contagious new coronavirus strain spreading in parts of the U.K.
In lieu of a travel ban, the governor asked Virgin, British Airways and Delta to require passengers report a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a flight to New York airports. All three agreed as Cuomo said the Empire State could “pursue other options” if the companies didn’t get on board.
“I’m only a governor, but I will do anything I can to protect the people of the state of New York,” Cuomo said during a press briefing in Albany.
The governor blasted the
Trump administration for failing to join other nations in scaling back travel from Britain and said he was forced to take action.
“I have no authority on international travel,” Cuomo said. “I can’t halt flights, I call on the U.S. government to do it.”
More than 120 countries currently require U.K. travelers to have proof of a negative test result before landing at their airports while another 40 have banned Brits from entering altogether.
The voluntary agreement Cuomo set up with the airlines essentially adds New York to the list of places requiring a test, but the governor fears the strain is already in the U.S.
“I believe intuitively it is already here. Because if it has been flying around the world, it is already here,” he said. “I say that because I’ve lived this. You’ve lived this. This was the spring.”
Meanwhile, New York’s vaccination distribution is ramping up at nursing homes around the state this week, Cuomo said.
The first phase of the state’s
immunization plan includes nursing home residents and workers, and the feds are assisting with the rollout as more than 600 elder care facilities are enrolled in the program.
So far, about 38,000 New Yorkers have been administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“This is entirely done by medical professionals,” Cuomo said. “We get the vaccine, we distribute the vaccine to a regional hub hospital. That hospital does the
vaccinations for that region. We define the categories of people who are eligible; Phase 1A, Phase 1B, etc. and we follow federal advice on that.”
The governor also announced the formation of a new COVID-19 Vaccine Equality Taskforce that will help ensure that distribution is done fairly and that minority and poor communities are prepared to administer inoculations.
“Their job is to come up with an operational logistic plan,” according to the governor. “How do we get it into Black churches? Housing authorities? How do we get an education campaign to the Black community, Latino community, poor communities, saying, ’This is safe.’ ”
The distribution continues as cases rise across the state. Of 156,510 COVID-19 tests results reported statewide Sunday, New York recorded a 5.75% positivity rate. A total of 6,331 people are currently hospitalized with the virus in the state and 1,095 are being treated in intensive care units.
The state is still keeping an eye on hospital capacity as the main indicator of the potential need to mandate more restrictions on businesses and gatherings, Cuomo said.
The governor also said that while the vaccine offers a ray of hope, New Yorkers must limit holiday gatherings and avoid travel to prevent another surge.
“If we stay under control in the holiday season and we don’t have a big spike, then it’s just a foot race: Us vs. the vaccine,” he said. “And we’re going to get the