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The New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is stepping up quarantine enforcement in the city. The move came after a new and more contagious strain of COVID-19 raising concerns. A news outlet reported that all travelers coming into New York City will be greeted by the city Department of Health with a warning: ‘either quarantine or face a fine’. One traveler said, “Filling out a form to let them know that I guess they track your whereabouts. That was easy, too. Only took two minutes on the internet. They said we had to fill out a form. Basically, they’ll try to reach us if someone tested positive on the line”. The city officials are taking enforcement a step further for those arriving from the United Kingdom. Point to be noted that a new coronavirus strain was found to be more contagious in the UK.

The NYC Mayor said, “We’re going to have sheriff’s deputies go to the home or the hotel of every single traveler coming in from the UK”. The recent move took place after Andrew Cuomo struck a deal with airlines requiring passengers to have a negative coronavirus test before boarding flights from the UK to John F. Kennedy Airport. He also said that quarantine violators will be subjected to $1,000 fines for each day they’re not in compliance. De Blasio said, “We don’t want to, but if you don’t follow quarantine, you’re endangering everyone else in the city right as we’re fighting the second wave”. It is still expected to be one of the busiest seasons of the year while holiday travel is strongly discouraged.

A former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden said, “There’s not enough vaccine yet, and we’re seeing the highest levels of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, the U.S. has, since the start of this pandemic”. It is noteworthy that the US Health Officials said the next 10 days could determine how devastating the next few months could be, which is why there’s a sense of urgency, just as the vaccine provides hope that this whole nightmare is closer than ever to being over. The US doesn’t have plans for a travel ban, but more than 40 other countries have initiated safety measures including a partial or smart lock-down.