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Coronavirus Updates: Cuomo Promises "Random Checks" On Those Coming to NY From States Required To Quarantine

By

Elizabeth Kim

Published Jun 25, 2020

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By

Elizabeth Kim

Published Jun 25, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Thursday, June 25th 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 2 of reopening now, which includes outdoor dining; hair salons and barbershops; and playgrounds are open, . Here's a look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

5:30 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday said that the state would be performing "random checks" on people flying in from designated states with high coronavirus infection rates to ensure that they are following the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

"If you fly in to New York, we'll have your name, we'll know where you're supposed to be staying, there will be random checks," he said, during an early morning interview on CNN. "You get pulled over by a police officer and he looks at where your residence and says 'How long have you been here?'"

Cuomo announced the travel advisory on Wednesday, along with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. The measure is not unprecedented. At least nine other states are currently imposing some kind of quarantine or travel restriction related to the coronavirus.

As of Thursday, eight states meet the NY/NJ/CT requirement for a quarantine, defined as a positivity rate greater than 10 percent or those with more than 10 virus cases per 100,000 residents—Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah. (Washington, which was included on Wednesday, was removed.)

Cuomo's announcement has been met with skepticism about how the state would go about enforcing such a quarantine. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has access to flight manifests, according to the governor.

"We know people who fly in," he told CNN. "You fly in here from another state, we know what flight you came in on. And we'll have inspectors who are randomly looking at the names on the list and calling to follow up to make sure you're quarantining. And if you're not you're in violation of the law and you will have a mandatory quarantine, and you'll be fined."

Those who violate the quarantine order will face a minimum fine of $2,000, and up to $10,000 if they cause harm.

On Wednesday, during a radio interview with WAMC's Alan Chartock, Cuomo speculated that New Yorkers would rat others out.

"I think the odds are very high that someone is going to blow the whistle on you," he said, later adding, “I think they’ll drop a dime on you."

On Thursday, however, he suggested that people would voluntarily follow the rule.

"We worked very hard in New York, and the people of New York sacrificed for the past three months," he said. "It's that simple and people understand that. So I think they're going to honor it because people at the end of the day, they get it now. It took them too long to get it but this country gets it now."

CDC Says True Number Of U.S. Infections Is 10 Times Greater Than Reported

4 p.m. The true number of coronavirus infections in the United States may be more than 20 million, or 10 times greater than what has been reported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During a telephone press briefing on Thursday, the head of the CDC, Dr. Robert Redfield, said that serological or antibody data that the agency is collecting suggests that for every one confirmed case, there are 10 more individuals who have been infected but have not been diagnosed. He estimated that between 5 percent to 8 percent of the American public may have already contracted the disease.

According to Redfield, the CDC is basing its analysis on samples collected nationally from blood banks as well as laboratories. That data collection process is still ongoing, he stressed.

"We’ll have a pretty complete understanding as we get through this over the next month or two," he said.

The CDC has reported roughly 2.3 million confirmed virus cases, although other sources, like Johns Hopkins University has put the number as closer to 2.4 million. One of the agency's failings during the crisis has been the inability for news outlets and the public to rely on its reporting of cases and deaths, an issue that came up in a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The briefing was only the second by the CDC since March 9th, the last time the public has heard from Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the agency's immunization and respiratory disease specialist who had previously been in charge of speaking to the press. Following her warning at the end of February that Americans needed to start preparing for a pandemic, Messonnier reportedly drew the ire of President Donald Trump for alarming the public and setting off a stock market crash by telling the truth.

On Thursday, Redfield was asked by a reporter on the call whether it had been a mistake to dismiss Messonnier's message. He was also questioned about why it took the agency so long to recommend masks, especially since many public health experts in the U.S. had begun shaming Americans for buying up masks, which they said were more needed for health workers.

Redfield declined to answer, saying he would speak to the reporter after the call.

New COVID-19 Cases In U.S. Soar To Near Record High

In a sign that the coronavirus pandemic is threatening to spiral out of control, the United States recorded its second-highest tally of new cases on Wednesday, according to two-widely cited data sources.

Johns Hopkins University found nearly 35,000 new cases on Wednesday, while Worldometer measured more than 38,000 new cases. Both numbers fell short of the highest daily total reported in late April.

According to the New York Times, which has also been assembling its own count of infections from states and local governments, the number of new cases on Wednesday was 36,880, the highest level by its count.

Either way, all three sources suggest an alarming spike in cases that is in line with the resurgence seen in the South and the West.

Four states—Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas—reported their highest daily case totals on Wednesday. More than two dozen states are also seeing surges.

Although President Donald Trump has tried to explain the growth in new cases as a result of expanded testing, at least seven states—Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas—are also reporting record highs in the number of hospitalizations, a sign that community spread is accelerating. Some states, like Arizona, are now struggling to meet the demands for tests.

To date, there have been more than 2.3 million infections and at least 119,000 deaths from the virus nationwide.

On Wednesday, a World Health Organization official said that cases in the Americas, which includes high daily infections in Brazil, Chile and Peru, had not peaked and that lockdowns might be necessary to contain the spread.

“It is very difficult to take the sting out of this pandemic unless we are able to successfully isolate cases and quarantine contacts,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, the executive director of the W.H.O. health emergencies program. “In the absence of a capacity to do that, then the specter of further lockdowns cannot be excluded.”

He added: "We must be able to reap the harvest of such a sacrifice to shut down and lock down and drive transmission to a low level."

In the wake of the grim news, the White House has offered no answers. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered recommendations to mitigate the spread, it has relegated decision-making to individual states.

Facing a looming election and slumping polls, Trump has urged states to reopen quickly. In April, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and trusted adviser, predicted a fast recovery.

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COVID-19

covid-19 updates

coronavirus

Elizabeth Kim

Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

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