NY Coronavirus Quarantine List Drops 5 States, Adds Guam

NEW YORK CITY — Visitors from five states are no longer required to quarantine when visiting New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

In a news release, Cuomo said Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland and Montana have been removed from the list of qualifying states. Visitors subject to quarantine come from states that have a rate of more than 10 positive tests for the new coronavirus per 100,000 residents or a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day average.

Also on Tuesday, Cuomo announced Guam has been added to the list of areas that are subject to quarantine when visiting the Empire State.

"New Yorkers made enormous sacrifices to get our numbers as low as they are today, and we don't want to give up an inch of that hard-earned progress. That's why these travel advisory precautions are so important — we don't want people who travel to states with high community spread to bring the virus back here," Cuomo said in a statement. "While it's good news that five states have been removed from the travel advisory, the list remains far too long as America continues to struggle with COVID-19. New Yorkers should stay vigilant and be careful—wear a mask, socially distance, and be smart. This pandemic is not over."

As of Tuesday, the list included 28 U.S. states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• California
• Florida
• Georgia
• Guam
• Hawaii
• Iowa
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• Puerto Rico
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Virgin Islands
• Wisconsin

The governor said on Tuesday that 63 more people were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Statewide, two new deaths were reported and a total of 133 people were in an ICU unit.

State data shows a total of 74,731 people have been discharged from hospitals across New York after having COVID-19.

On Tuesday, New York reported it had completed 67,255 tests for the coronavirus, and only 629 returned positive results. The statewide positivity rate was 0.94 percent.