NEW YORK (WKBW) — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday there are now 43 states on New York's COVID-19 travel advisory list.
The governor announced Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey all meet the criteria to be added to the travel advisory list but "given the interconnected nature of the region and mode of transport between us, a quarantine on these states is not practically viable."
Officials say travel between New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania that is not essential should be avoided. Cuomo said he will be speaking with the governors of those states Tuesday and more information would be coming Wednesday.
"We are now in a situation where 43 states meet the criteria for our travel advisory. This is really a bizarre outcome, considering New York once had the highest infection rate," Cuomo said. "There is no practical way to quarantine New York from Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut. There are just too many interchanges, interconnections, and people who live in one place and work in the other. It would have a disastrous effect on the economy, and remember while we're fighting this public health pandemic we're also fighting to open up the economy. However, to the extent travel between the states is not essential, it should be avoided."
States are added to the advisory list based on a series of metrics on COVID-19 cases. Those metrics include: a positive test rate above 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average, or a 10 percent or higher rate of positive tests in a seven-day rolling average.
For people living in border communities of Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Counties, Covid-19 has become a big worry because of a spike in those areas. As a result, New York State has now deployed free Covid rapid testing at various locations, with results returned by phone within the same day.
RAPID TESTING LOCATIONS:
-COVID-19 Testing Chautauqua County Mental Health at 7 N Erie Street Mayville, NY (Chautauqua County)
COVID-19 Testing Allegany Fire Hall at 186 W Main Street Allegany, NY (Cattaraugus County)
COVID-19 Testing BOCES Center at 5718 County Road 48 Belmont, NY (Allegany County)
Chautauqua County: Jamestown Training Grounds, 240 Harrison Street, Jamestown, NY 14701
Dunkirk Training Grounds, 665 Brigham Road, Dunkirk, NY 14048
Cattaraugus County: Allegany Fire Hall, 1st Street (West Main St), Allegany, NY 14706 Hours: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday-Saturday to make an appointment: Any resident of Cattaraugus County can register by calling (716) 938-9119 or (716) 938-2265
Allegany County: Belmont BOCES Center, 5718 County Road 48, Belmont, NY 14813 Community testing Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. To make an appointment: (585) 268-9250, press #4, to schedule an appointment for testing
Riverwalk Plaza, 121 Bolivar Road, Wellsville, NY 14895Testing Days/Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10/20-10/23: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. To make an appointment: (585) 268-9250, press #4 to schedule an appointment for testing
Travelers from states on the NYS advisory list are required to quarantine for 14 days, below is the official travel advisory list.
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
Ohio
Oklahoma
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
