Cuomo Seeks to Keep 95% of U.S. Out of New York as Virus Rages

(Bloomberg) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking to keep 95% of the U.S. out of New York as the coronavirus rages across the nation.

The governor on Tuesday added California, the most populous U.S. state, to a list of 39 states whose residents must quarantine 14 days if they visit New York. Massachusetts, meanwhile, joins three other neighboring states that technically qualify for the quarantine, but instead are being asked to discourage travel to the Big Apple.

That leaves just six states -- Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont and Washington -- with about 5% of the population not under some sort of advisory or restriction from New York, the early center of the U.S. outbreak. Cuomo also has two territories, Guam and Puerto Rico, on his quarantine list, which is based on a seven-day rolling average of the number of positive tests in excess of 10%, or the number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents.

“We cannot let our guard down and risk going backwards in New York,” Cuomo said Tuesday in a statement. “It’s going to take the work of all of us to remain vigilant.”

Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases in New York continues to rise, though the state’s positive rate is still among the lowest in the nation.

A total of 1,991 tests, 1.78% of the more than 111,600 conducted statewide on Monday, were positive, including several hot spot areas. The percentage of positive tests not including those spots was 1.53%. The rate was 3.65% in hot spot areas including Queens, Brooklyn, and Rockland, Steuben, Chemung, Broome, and Orange Counties.

There were 1,083 hospitalizations and 15 virus-related deaths, according to the state data. Last month, hospitalizations were below 500.

“The numbers are a reminder that Covid is still here and continues to spread in communities across the state, particularly when people choose not to follow the safety protocols in place to control the virus,” Cuomo said. “We continue to see outbreaks linked to mass gatherings at houses of worship, at weddings and funerals, and other events where the virus can quickly spread.”

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