Cuomo asks airlines to test passengers coming in from United Kingdom
ALBANY, N.Y. » New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that he has asked airlines flying into the state from the United Kingdom to make all passengers take a COVID-19 test before they get on the plane.
The Democrat said at least two airlines, British Airways and Delta, had already agreed to comply. He is awaiting an answer from others, including Virgin Atlantic, but was hopeful they would also agree.
“All Delta customers traveling from the U.K. to New York will be required to take a PCR test (nasal swab test) 72 hours prior to departure adding another layer of safety when they travel,” a Delta spokesperson said via email.
Cuomo has been calling on the U.S. government to temporarily halt all flights from the U.K. because of the emergence there of a new strain of the coronavirus.
Numerous nations have already taken that step out of concern that the newly identified strain might be more easily transmitted.
“I think the United States should do what other countries have done, which is halt the travel,” Cuomo said, adding that too much was still unknown about whether the mutated virus would pose more of a threat. “I was on the phone with top experts all weekend. We don’t know if it’s more deadly. We don’t know how much more easily it’s transmitted.”
Cuomo added that he believed he had the legal authority as governor to ask airlines to test passengers in the absence of federal action.
Vaccines in Nursing Homes
Cuomo said the state’s 85,000 nursing home residents began receiving vaccinations Monday morning under a federally run program.
It could take six weeks to vaccinate residents as well as many as 130,000 nursing home staffers, he said. Pharmacy workers who will administer the vaccines will also receive vaccinations themselves.
“The COVID-19 virus is the greatest public health threat our country has faced in most of our lifetimes, and our nursing home and as
sisted living residents and dedicated health care workers are on the front line of this pandemic,” said Stephen Hanse, President & CEO of the New York State Health Facilities Association and the New York State Center for Assisted Living.