Mayor de Blasio started off his press conference today talking about the challenge ahead: the part of the year where people travel the most.
Of course, New York has pretty strict quarantining rules for people coming in from other states, especially with infections rates rising in different parts of the country. So, he is urging New Yorkers to reconsider seeing family and friends for the holidays.
“I want to recommend to all New Yorkers, it’s not business as usual,” he said. “I hate to say it, but I have to urge all New Yorkers, do not travel out of state for the holidays. Do not travel to a state with a high infection rate, do not travel to a country with a high infection rate. Realize that by doing that, unfortunately, you could be putting yourself and your family in danger and also the risk of bringing the disease back here. ”
After saying he realizes it’s a year when we’ll be yearning to see family even more, he acknowledged that each person will make their own decision, and that there will be “tough choices to make.” But he said that based on recommendations from healthcare leadership in NYC, he advises that New Yorkers avoid holiday travel this year. He also reminded that almost every state is on NY’s watchlist, so if you do travel, there is a very high likelihood that you will have to quarantine for two weeks when you return.
New Yorkers, the pull of a festive time can be a strong one, but I urge you to think of your loved ones and their health. We've all made sacrifices this year, and I'm asking you to make one more to get out of this crisis. Stay home for the holidays. Let’s keep New York City safe.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) October 27, 2020
“Now, that’s what I’m urging all New Yorkers to consider,” he finished. “And it’s tough and it’s painful. But hopefully what we know about this virus is, it is only for a brief period of time, more and more good news coming, it looks like, about a vaccine soon. This hopefully will be the only holiday season that gets affected by this horrible disease. But that’s my advice to everyday New Yorkers.”
You can read the full remarks here.featured image source: Unsplash