Visiting South Carolina will disqualify New Yorkers from getting coronavirus sick leave
New York workers won’t qualify for COVID-19 paid sick leave if they visit South Carolina.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order Friday removing state coronavirus protections for New York employees who voluntarily travel to a state with a high rate of coronavirus transmission after June 25.
The executive order comes after Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut announced Wednesday of last week an advisory that requires travelers from states with “significant community spread” of the coronavirus, including South Carolina, to self-quarantine for 14 days.
The advisory started Thursday and applies to states with a positive coronavirus test rate that’s higher than 10 per 100,000 people and to states that have a seven-day rolling average of at least 10% positive tests, Cuomo said during a news conference last week.
When it was announced, the order applied to Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Utah, Texas and Washington. Others could be added.
New York was once a hot spot for the coronavirus outbreak but has since done a “full 180-degrees” and now has some of the lowest transmission rates in the country, Cuomo said last week. Now, some southern states have started to emerge as hot spots, with many seeing surges in cases this month, McClatchy News reports.
Coronavirus activity has been increasing in South Carolina, with the state consistently seeing record daily case counts and the percentage of positive cases increasing, The State reports.
Last week, the percentage of positive cases ranged from 12.1% to 20.1%. on Sunday.
Health officials have attributed the surge in cases in the state to people not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing. South Carolina has been gradually reopening since April 20 and Gov. Henry McMaster has said he won’t reimpose any restrictions or issue a statewide mask requirement.
Infection rates among visitors to South Carolina beaches have been especially high, and health officials say anyone who has visited should get tested for the virus.
Cuomo’s paid sick leave order will last until at least July 26. It only applies to non-essential travel to states in the same categories outlined by the previous order. It will not affect those traveling for work-required reasons.
The governor said in a statement that New Yorkers need to be vigilant as other states that reopened too quickly have shown the “pandemic is far from over.”
“If we are going to maintain the progress we’ve seen, we need everyone to take personal responsibility — that’s why I’m issuing an executive order that says any New York employee who voluntarily travels to a high-risk state will not be eligible for the COVID protections we created under paid sick leave,” he said in the statement.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Visiting South Carolina will disqualify New Yorkers from getting coronavirus sick leave."
