NEW ROCHELLE, NY — 2020 is a year Noam Bramson will not soon forgot but one he will certainly wish he could.
After having been caught up in the nation’s first (and only) designated “containment zone” in March, Bramson was on vacation in Rhode Island on Tuesday. As Tropical Storm Isaias was wreaking havoc in New Rochelle the Ocean State was flagged by Andrew Cuomo for significant community spread requiring those coming to New York from Rhode Island to quarantine for 14 days. When Bramson decided to cut his trip short to assist with the storm recovery two days later he was forced into self-quarantine upon arrival in New York.
The New Rochelle Mayor’s woes began 5 months ago when he was confronted last March with the first major outbreak of coronavirus on the East Coast. As a result, New Rochelle Schools were the first in the nation to close due to COVID-19. Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a public heath emergency, set up a “containment zone” in the area around the home of the local index patient (“patient zero”) and called out the National Guard. To add insult to injury, the Mayor’s residence in the North End of New Rochelle fell within the Containment Zone.
Less than three months later, on June 6th, the Mayor stood before the press to explain the circumstances of an officer-involved shooting in which a white police officer shot and killed Kamal Flowers, a 24-year old black man. The incident occurred just days after the alleged murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25th after which mass protests sprang up in cities across the country, in some cases interspersed with violence and clashes with police.
His respite, a family vacation in August was interrupted, when Tropical Storm Isaias blasted through New Rochelle leaving a path of destruction that downed trees took out electrical power from thousands of residents. As the scope of the damage from the storm became clear Bramson decided to return to New Rochelle only to find that while he was away Rhode Island met criteria and was added to the New York State Travel Advisory list on August 4th.
Noam Bramson informed the City government this morning he had returned the day before from Rhode Island and will observe the mandated quarantine from his home in New Rochelle. Bramson said he was vacationing with his family in Rhode Island when Tropical Storm Isaias and decided to cut his vacation short.
The New York State Travel Advisory was created in response to increased rates of COVID-19 transmission in certain states within the United States, and to protect New York’s successful containment of COVID-19, the State of New York joined with New Jersey and Connecticut in jointly issuing a travel advisory for anyone returning from travel to states that have a significant degree of community-wide spread of COVID-19.
Based upon Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 205, issued June 25, 2020, the dozens of states and territories meet the criteria for required quarantine including Rhode Island. Namely, a seven day rolling average, of positive tests in excess of 10%, or number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents.
People who violate the state’s order are subject to fines and a mandatory quarantine; the fines will be $2,000 for the first violation, $5,000 for the second and up to $10,000 if they cause harm.