New York’s state of mind

I HAVE been here in New York for work for about two weeks. So, while this will not be a column of deep insight, I hope some of you find my observations of interest. First, flying was relatively uneventful and as my ANA flight had only 97 passengers from Narita to JFK, there was natural social distancing and the protocols were extensive but not over the top like some others that are requiring staff to wear full PPE attire. All staff wore masks as did all passengers. Protocols at Narita airport for transit passengers were as unobtrusive but thorough in the manner expected of Japan. Most duty free and many restaurants were open unlike at NAIA as were the major airline lounges. At the lounge there were social distancing protocols similar to what one sees at restaurants in Manila and elsewhere. As I am already used to that, it was not obtrusive either to me.

The tristate area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) has similar rules to New York which has a 14-day quarantine for arrivals except for 31 level-one countries (Thailand the only one from Asia) and some states (like Maryland but not, for example, Virginia) objectively based on the infection rate per 1,000 on a weekly basis. They also allow one to not have to quarantine if one has proof of a negative Covid-19 test. It is difficult to strictly enforce that given open travel between states so while there are sufficient notices and a form that one has to fill, compliance is mostly voluntary but seems to be complied with. For example, though by the measures they know fall into quarantine territory, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said they would not include New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania as there are too many daily commuters and it would be too hard to enforce.