Updates to New York State laws
on the 14-Day Quarantine for Returning Students

August 3, 2020: New York State law has just changed to require any person traveling from a restricted state to quarantine upon arrival for 14 days with their own private bathroom. This cannot be accomplished in the Sigma Pi house, so if you are traveling from a restricted state, you must quarantine in New York (or any other non-restricted state) for 14 days, get tested, and receive a negative result before you can move into 730 University.

This changes our priority list for who can move in first. Now, those traveling from restricted states will move in last to ensure that you have quarantined (1) in a “safe” state (2) with a private bathroom (3) for 14 days and then (4) tested negative before moving into Sigma Pi.

This is a New York State law, so it is also required of brothers living in annexes. Get in touch with me (RA Luke Williams; lw698@cornell.edu) if you are traveling from a restricted state. Even if you already set up a move-in time with me, I now need to know the details of how you plan to quarantine in a safe state for 14 days before arriving at Sigma Pi. For the health of the whole house, if you do not detail your plans to quarantine and get tested with Arthur or myself, you will not be allowed to move in.

This is a very tough situation, and I understand that you might have already made travel plans and financial commitments. You will have to work with your brothers and be creative to find a way to quarantine in a safe state with your own bathroom for 14 days.

A second option is that you can opt to take classes virtually and do so until your state is cleared from the restricted states list. When that occurs, this quarantine period would not be required.

The bottom line is that, for those traveling from restricted states, you must quarantine for 14 days and then receive a negative test result before you can move in, but keep in mind that there are plenty of ways to get this done.

Luke Williams
Resident Advisor
J.D. Candidate, Cornell Law School 2022
lw698@cornell.edu