New Yorkers visiting high-risk states will lose paid COVID-19 sick leave

• New Yorkers traveling to states with high rates of coronavirus infection will lose their sick leave benefits paid for by COVID-19, according to a June 26 executive order from Governor Andrew Cuomo.
• The order applies to travelers coming from states with positive test rates above 10%, which currently include Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.
• New York is experiencing the fewest hospitalizations and deaths since the start of the pandemic.
• Meanwhile, cases are increasing in 36 states, including Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas.
• The United States has just reached a record high for new daily cases, with more than 40,000 new cases reported on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
• Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.

New Yorkers traveling to states with high rates of coronavirus infection will lose their COVID-19 sick leave benefits, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo signed an executive order on Friday saying that New York employees who voluntarily travel to a state with a positive test rate greater than 10% will no longer be eligible for the benefits of paid sick leave law COVID-19 of New York. The order does not apply to people traveling for work.

“If we are to maintain the progress we have seen, we need everyone to take personal responsibility; that is why I am issuing an executive order saying that any New York employee who voluntarily travels to a high-risk state will not be eligible for COVID protections that we create under paid sick leave, “Cuomo said in a statement.

According to Johns Hopkins University data last updated on June 28, nine states currently have positive test rates above 10%: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.

In March, Cuomo expanded paid sick leave benefits for New York employees who were quarantined as a result of the coronavirus or who had to care for a family member infected with COVID-19.

The new law said that employers with more than 100 employees had to provide at least 14 days of paid sick leave and ensure job protection during quarantine. Employers with 11 to 99 employees and employers with 10 or fewer employees and a net income of more than $ 1 million had to provide at least five days of paid sick leave, as well as job protection.

In addition to New Yorkers who lose these COVID-19 paid sick leave benefits after visiting high-risk states, travelers arriving from states where the virus is on the rise have been ordered to quarantine for two weeks. .

Earlier in the week, Cuomo, along with the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut, implemented a 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from high-risk states based on the same 10% positivity rate threshold. Those who discover they have broken the quarantine can be fined more than $ 2,000, Cuomo said.

As Business Insider’s Jake Lahut reported, the governors of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have touted the fewest COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in their states after seeing the most severe outbreaks in the United States.

COVID-19 cases are emerging in the U.S.

New York is experiencing the fewest coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations since the pandemic began in March. On Saturday, less than 1% of the tests administered were positive.

However, cases are increasing in 36 states, including Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, CNN reported. Only two states, Connecticut and Rhode Island, are seeing their cases decrease, while the number of new cases remains stable in many other states, including New York. Some states, such as Texas, are slowing their reopens or reducing the openings of bars and restaurants.

The United States has just reached a record high for new daily cases, with more than 40,000 new cases reported on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The total number of cases in the United States now exceeds 2.5 million.

On Friday, Cuomo said New York was offering assistance to states with high rates of COVID-19 infection like Texas, Florida and Arizona.