Blaz hotel order Virus-state visitors have to be checked out at check-in
Out-of-state visitors staying in Big Apple hotels and shortterm rentals will have to fill out traveler forms under an executive order signed Tuesday by Mayor de Blasio.
The order mandates that hotels and short-term rentals like Airbnb must get guests to fill out the forms to be admitted to their rooms when coming from a restricted state.
It’s intended to help enforce the mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers coming into the city from states that have been put on New York State’s coronavirus watch list.
“Any hotel, any short-term rental must get that form from the traveler, complete with the contact information,” de Blaso said Tuesday. “If they don’t have that form from the traveler, they should not give them access to their room, period.”
De Blasio urged New Yorkers
considering travel to stay away from the 33 states and territories on the state’s list and warned that if people do travel to one of them and don’t quarantine upon return, there could be consequences.
“If you’re going to travel, go to a place that is not on the New York State list of states that are experiencing profound coronavirus problems,” de Blasio said. “If you do go, take the law seriously. You have to quarantine upon your return.”
Among the places on the list are Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Puerto Rico.
Violating the mandatory quarantine is a misdemeanor and carries with it a fine of up to $10,000. Those who fail to fill out required forms or carry out the quarantine could also be required to isolate in a hospital for the 14 days, noted city Sheriff Joseph Fucito.
“What you do and how you act can save someone’s life,” he said. “So please, take a moment and put a stranger’s needs before your own desires.”
The new hotel and rental form requirements are in addition to checkpoints set up around city entry points, many of which have been in place on Staten Island — at the Goethals and Bayonne bridges, as well as the Outerbridge Crossing. The city has also used checkpoints at the Holland and Lincoln tunnels to gather data from travelers and order quarantines.
De Blasio’s senior public health adviser Jay Varma said that, over the past month, between 15% and 20% of all COVID-19 cases in the Big Apple have been found in people who traveled outside the city recently.