New York City will enforce quarantine for U.K. travelers with visits from sheriff's deputies

All U.K. travelers going to New York City will now be required to quarantine or face a daily $1,000 fine, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Although all people are required to quarantine when traveling into the city, U.K travelers specifically will receive visits from sheriff’s deputies to ensure they are following the two-week quarantine order.

The big picture: The move is a response to the reported new coronavirus variant rapidly spreading in the U.K.

• Of note: U.S. officials said the chances the mutation will make vaccines less effective are "extremely low."

Details: All incoming travelers, regardless of where they're coming from, will be obligated to submit contact information forms to receive orders from the state department of health directing them to quarantine.

What he's saying: "We cannot take chances with anyone who travels, particularly people coming in from the U.K.," de Blasio said.

• "This U.K. variant news is a real issue. I want to make sure we understand it," he continued.
• "There’s been confusion in some of the stories I’ve read because it’s complicated. Boris Johnson shut down the U.K. one week after he said he would never shut it down for Christmas. The reason he shut it down, he said, and did a total 180-degree shift, was because they found a variant of the virus."