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Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed an executive order Monday reminding international travelers entering New York from Level 2 and 3 countries to quarantine and fill out the NYS Department of Health traveler health form to further prevent the spread of COVID-19 as countries across the globe experience alarming second waves of the virus. New York State has since March 2020, required a mandatory quarantine for any traveler entering New York from a Level 2 or Level 3 country - that's all but 31 countries on the globe.

Since the CDC has continued to roll back their screening measures at airports accepting international flights, this measure is necessary to link travelers to the appropriate local Department of Health for contact tracing purposes. The Commissioner of Health will expand his Emergency Health Order which authorizes the imposition of civil penalties if individuals refuse to fill out the required form. To complete the Department of Health Traveler Health form online, travelers should visit here.

"The CDC's decision to end enhanced screening at airports, coupled with alarming case increases in countries around the world, presents an increased threat to New York's progress in the war against COVID-19," Cuomo said. "Today's Executive Order will require the Department of Health to alert all travelers from any Level 2 or Level 3 country of mandatory quarantine requirements, as well as require international travelers to complete the DOH Traveler Health Form to aid in the state's robust contact tracing efforts and further prevent the spread of COVID-19."

The 31 countries not subject to the executive order and mandatory quarantine requirement are listed below:

  • American Samoa
  • Anguilla
  • Bonaire
  • Brunei
  • Cambodia
  • Cayman Islands
  • Dominica
  • Falkland Islands
  • Fiji
  • Guernsey
  • Greenland
  • Grenada
  • Isle of Man
  • Laos
  • Macau SAR
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Micronesia
  • Montserrat
  • New Caledonia
  • New Zealand
  • Palau
  • Saba
  • Saint Barthelemy
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Pierre and Miquelon
  • Sint Eustatius
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Timor-Leste


Monday's executive order enhances New York's ongoing enforcement efforts and builds on the successful domestic COVID-19 Travel Advisory for states that have a significant degree of community-wide spread of the virus. The advisory requires individuals who have traveled to New York from areas with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days. The quarantine applies to any person arriving from an area with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or an area with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

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