Albany Airport Asking Passengers to Complete Quarantine Forms

The NY State Health Department is asking passengers on arriving flights to Albany International Airport to complete quarantine forms, as new procedures were being carried out Monday.

The Times Union reports that passengers arriving from states with high COVID-19 infection rates are being instructed to quarantine for 14 days and are asked to fill out a form with various pieces of information.

At the airport, Health Department employees are providing them with a copy of the state's COVID-19 Travel Advisory and the NYS Health Department Traveler Health Form, which they are asked to complete. Some airlines also were shipping the forms to their flights' departing airport so that they could be distributed on board the plane.

From there, the passengers will be asked their addresses, whether they've traveled to one of the states with spreading COVID-19 infections, whether they have such symptoms as fever, chills, difficulty breathing, and if their final destination is New York state. They will also be asked if they were traveling as an essential employee.

Last week, Gov. Cuomo put a travel ban in place for the states with a spike in COVID-19 cases. The states involved in the mandatory two week quarantine include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.

Anyone found violating the order could be fined up a minimum of $2,000 to a maximum of $10,000 if the person causes "harm."

"This is not a polite recommendation, this is a strong advisory built on the back of the healthcare professionals," Cuomo said. "We are asking folks to take on a big amount of personal responsibility here, to do the right thing for themselves as well as for their families, communities and the rest of us."

As part of this travel advisory, exceptions are permitted for essential workers and are limited based on the duration of time in designated states, as well as the intended duration of time in New York. You can find the full list of exceptions at Coronavirus.health.ny.gov.

Should they do this at the Syracuse Airport as well? Send your opinion to kaylin@lite987.com.