New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a high school student who contracted COVID-19 during a recent trip to Florida infected four other students when they returned for a graduation event on Saturday, June 20.
The state’s contact tracing team is trying to locate people who have come into contact with the unidentified student from Horace Greeley High School, which is located in Westchester County.
At the time, the student had not yet developed symptoms of the virus and was unaware of the infection.
The person had also returned to New York before Cuomo ordered a 14-day quarantine for those arriving in that state from eight coronavirus hot spots, which include Florida.
‘We’re prepared to do the aggressive testing and contact tracing required to slow and ultimately control any potential clusters of new cases like the one in Westchester County,’ Cuomo stated Friday
The “drive-in” graduation ceremony was held at a train station, although attendees reported that not everyone stayed in their cars.
NY, NJ and CT will continually update and publish on their respective websites a list of states to which the new advisory applies.
As of today, the list of states includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah & Washington. https://t.co/do5hy6UyUY
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) June 24, 2020
One of the infected students later went to a second event following the graduation, and came into contact there with students from other schools in the area.
New York has recently gone from being among the worst-affected states to being one of the few that are on track to contain the coronavirus.
In order to stop a second wave, Cuomo announced the new mandatory quarantine order last Wednesday for people arriving from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.
Those who do not follow the 14-day quarantine period risk a $10,000 fine.
“In New York, it’s a travel advisory, you are informed you should quarantine for 14 days,” said Cuomo on Wednesday.
However, The requirements do not apply to any individual passing through designated states for a limited duration, such as connecting on a plane or driving through the state.