BUFFALO, N.Y. — There are still a lot of questions about how Gov. Andrew Cuomo's travel advisory will be handled and enforced.
It requires anyone coming from states (primarily Southern states such as Florida, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina) with high infection rates to quarantine for 14 days.
While this Executive Order #205 from Governor Cuomo took effect at midnight on Thursday, it seems like his quarantine policy for travelers from those specified states is still very much a work in progress.
And the Governor seemed to admit that it's easier said than done or in this case, ordered.
Cuomo told reporters "We have no legal jurisdiction over border control. That's all federal. The Port Authority however administers the airports from a management point of view. We are talking to the airlines right now about our ability as a state to question people coming into our airports, gathering information from them, doing checks on them, temperature checks etc., what is our legal authority and how cooperative would the airlines be."
Cuomo also says state officials are talking to federal agencies such as Customs and Border Protection to see if they would be willing to help. But he admits it is a strained relationship with the ongoing Trusted Traveler dispute between Albany and Washington.
The Governor did not discuss anything Friday about highway travel or potential police traffic stops for cars with those particular out of state plates. He has brought that up before. Lt. Governor Hochul told us they do not want to be "heavy handed."
But that order does include a potential fine up to $10,000 for repeated quarantine violations.
Other states such as Florida previously established similar quarantines for travelers arriving from New York state when the pandemic was at its height in New York City earlier this year.
Governor Cuomo also threatened legal action back in late March against the state of Rhode Island after Governor Gina Raimondo imposed traffic and home checks on individuals from New York state. That policy was later repealed.