Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York who don’t want to quarantine for 14 days to "test out" of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. The new protocol take effect Wednesday, November 4. Individuals arriving without proof of a negative test won’t be stopped from entering the state, but will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

Exemptions: Travelers from states that are contiguous with New York will continue to be exempt from the travel advisory; however, covered travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form. Essential workers will continue to be exempt as well. 

For travelers who were in another state for more than 24 hours:

• Travelers must obtain a test within three days of departure from that state.
• The traveler must, upon arrival in New York, quarantine for three days.
• On day 4 of their quarantine, the traveler must obtain seek another COVID test. If both tests come back negative, the traveler may exit quarantine early upon receipt of the second negative diagnostic test.

For travelers who were in another state for less than 24 hours:

• The traveler does not need a test prior to their departure from the other state, and does not need to quarantine upon arrival in New York State.
• However, the traveler must fill out the traveler information form upon entry into New York State, and take a COVID diagnostic test 4 days after their arrival in New York.

For New York residents:

• New York residents who travel out of state must, like out-of-state visitors, take a test within three days of their departure for New York and quarantine for at least three days upon arrival, with a negative test result on the fourth day or later releasing them from quarantine, and the lack of a test, or a positive test result, keeping them in quarantine for 14 days.
• Residents leaving New York for fewer than 24 hours do not need to get tested before returning or quarantine upon arrival, but they must get a test four days after arrival if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine, isolating if they test positive.

Air Travel vs. Road Trips:

• If travelers are flying, they must fill out a form upon arrival in New York that will be sent to health departments, which may contact the visitor to verify the negative result. Those arriving by road must fill out a form online.
• State employees will continue to be stationed randomly at some airport arrival gates to ensure visitors fill out forms. Local health departments will validate tests, if necessary, and if a test comes back positive, will issue isolation orders and initiate contact tracing. 

Find more information on New York guidelines here: https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory. Check AAA’s COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Map as well as CDC’s COVID-19 data tracker for the latest state and local travel restrictions.

AAA Travel agents are here to help you navigate travel, NYS restrictions, and quarantine guidelines. To find out more, call a AAA Travel agent today.

AAA Travel & COVID FAQs