NYC airports will have COVID-19 testing: Cuomo
New York had a 0.66% infection rate Sunday, the lowest since the pandemic began in March
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}COVID-19 testing for out-of-state travelers passing through New York City’s busiest airports will now be available, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
Port Authority and New York City Health and Hospitals will now set up COVID-19 test sites at JFK International and LaGuardia Airport throughout each, the New York governor said at a briefing.
Passengers, some wearing masks and protective gear, queue for their flight at Terminal 1 of John F. Kennedy Airport. (Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The testing comes following the state’s mandatory two-week quarantine in place for 35 states, aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus. The Port Authority was unclear if the testing would be mandatory.
"The Port Authority has been working with the State and City to find ways to expand testing at its facilities, and we hope to see these testing facilities for both travelers and airport workers come online in the coming weeks at LGA and JFK," a spokesperson for Port Authority told Fox News in an email.
The announcement of new testing facilities follows a pilot test program with XpresCheck that launched at JFK's Terminal 4 at the end of June, initially for airport and airline workers. The program has now expanded to all travelers. The agency also opened a similar testing facility for airport workers at Newark Airport's Terminal B last week and expanded the same service to travelers, the Port Authority spokesperson confirmed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York has been able to contain the spread of the virus for the past few weeks. The state, once an epicenter for the coronavirus, had just a 0.66 percent infection rate on Sunday, the lowest since the pandemic began in March, Cuomo said. What’s more, the Empire State's daily cases of infection has averaged 1 percent or below since June, and under 1 percent for 17 days in a row.
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In related news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday dropped its suggested guidelines that travelers quarantine for 14 days after returning from trips overseas or out of state during the coronavirus pandemic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The CDC advises travelers to wear masks indoors, maintain social distancing guidelines, wash hands and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19.