Celebrities from out of state attending the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in New York will not have to entirely quarantine themselves for 14 days, as most others traveling to the state are required to do at threat of $10,000 in fines and up to 15 days behind bars.
According to The New York Post, celebrities attending the award show have been granted special exemptions to coronavirus-related quarantine rules from the New York State Department of Health.
A spokesperson for Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the stars can “participate in the production of the show, but they will only interact with other members of the cast and crew and will quarantine when not working,” the Post reported.
The VMAs “agreed to police itself with ‘rigorous safety protocols including testing and screening and compliance checks by a special compliance officer,'” the report added.
If you are not a celebrity attending the VMAs, or offered some other exemption, and are traveling from any of the dozens of states Cuomo has deemed a coronavirus “hot” zone, you’ll have to fill out a form disclosing your travel and agree to quarantine for 14 days. If you fail to report yourself, you could find yourself facing a $2,000 fine and potentially “ordered to complete mandatory quarantine.”
“All out-of-state travelers from designated states must complete the form upon entering New York,” the state’s health department travel guidance says. “Travelers who leave the airport without completing the form will be subject to a $2,000 fine and may be brought to a hearing and ordered to complete mandatory quarantine. Travelers coming to New York from designated states through other means of transport, including trains and cars, must fill out the form online.”
According to the Post, some “415,000 travelers flying or driving into New York since June 25 after visiting one of the 34 restricted states have ‘voluntarily’ filled out health forms as of Friday, state officials said.”
“Do you consent to receive daily monitoring messages via text from the New York State Contact Tracing Program?” the form asks, in part.
The strict 14-day self-quarantine must include separation from others in your home and forgoing grocery stores and other places for even essential items. Those items, instead,
must be delivered to you.
If you fail to self-isolate as the state requires, (and you’re not, say, a celebrity with special exemption), you could be hit with fines up to $10,000 and face time behind bars, according to the Post.
The executive over reads: “Any violation of a quarantine or isolation order issued to an individual pursuant to the Commissioner of the Department of Health’s travel advisory by a local department of health or state department of health may be enforced pursuant to article 21 of the public health law, and non-compliance may additionally be deemed a violation pursuant to section 12 of the public health law subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000.”
There are currently over 30 states and territories — including home to many stars, California — that are considered coronavirus hot zones per Cuomo’s Executive Order 205, which was issued June 25.