Bans and Quarantines for Travelers to New York and the E.U.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/opinion/letters/coronavirus-travel-new-york-eu.html

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To the Editor:

Re “New York Imposes Quarantine on Travelers From Hot Spots” (news article, June 25):

As a former New Yorker, I’d like to commend Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his serious action against Covid-19. Though I can no longer visit my family next week, I understand the importance of taking precautions against the virus from states whose government is letting everyone run free and maskless.

Not only has Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, dropped the ball on unemployment benefits (thousands of us are suffering and fighting tooth and nail simply to get even a call to discuss our benefits, let alone receive them), but his reckless decision to open up the state earlier than most states and provide lax guidance has left citizens alone to fight for their safety and well-being. This is all while downplaying the severity of Covid-19 and number of cases in the state, and refusing to issue statewide regulations for mask coverings.

I am hurting, and my fellow Floridians are as well — and no one is listening to us.

So while I would love a hug from my mother and to see my amazing father for his birthday, I respect Governor Cuomo’s decision to protect his state from the virus.

Audrey G. DellasOrlando, Fla.

To the Editor:

New York suffered immeasurably in April. It was a time of endless stress, sadness, suffering and loss of life. During those dark weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered leadership when it was lacking elsewhere.

I lost my entire business, and it will likely not recover for at least a year. It took me seven weeks to finally get an unemployment claim filed. Worrying about money and my 93-year-old mother, I did not sleep more than a few hours each night until just a few weeks ago, when it seemed that our state was finally in some sort of healing mode.

And now, all these people who spent the winter in Florida and elsewhere, while we suffered, are returning to New York. This is simply not fair.

If the E.U. can close its borders to the United States and other nations, then why can’t Governor Cuomo do the right and courageous thing — and do all he can do stop the influx? An “advisory” 14-day quarantine sounds good but is completely ridiculous. There is no way to enforce that.

Rather do this: Any flight originating from any of the states with increased virus cases (like Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas) will not be allowed to land in any of our airports. And New Jersey and Connecticut must do the same. If not, when cases rise, it will be much harder to ask us to sacrifice once again when we know our leaders had the power to protect us — and they did not.

Patty BurkhartDeer Park, N.Y.

To the Editor:

Re “As E.U. Opens, It Aims to Keep Americans Out” (front page, June 24):

Why bar Americans or citizens from any other country to travel to the E.U. or elsewhere when a mandatory Covid-19 testing before travel would solve the problem? Covid-19 tests are widely available now. Of course, there would be occasional false negatives, or someone who gets infected between the test and boarding. But it would be rare.

A reliable Covid-19 test before boarding would not only protect the destination country, but would make plane cabins with hundreds of passengers much safer as well. Emirates has started administering rapid Covid-19 tests to passengers at the Dubai airport.

Mandatory Covid-19 testing before boarding would allow the tourism and travel sector to start recovering, which would be a much-needed boost for the global economy.

Giovanna Di BernardoNew York