Westchester County officials are joining Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plea to the federal government to increase COVID-19 protocol at airports because of the new strain of coronavirus currently being investigated in the U.K.

Cuomo is calling for a total ban on travel from the U.K. or mandatory negative tests before flying into the United States.

Nearly 40 countries have already banned travel from there, but not the United States.

So, Cuomo is taking matters into his own hands by partnering with airlines that fly out of the U.K.

"I am asking those airlines to add New York State to the list of the 120 countries that require tests before the flights leave the U.K.," Cuomo said Monday.

British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Delta have all agreed.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer is asking the Federal Aviation Administration to help put testing protocol in place at the Westchester County Airport.

Although there are no direct international flights into the airport, Latimer said it's common for international travels to transfer from another airport into Westchester's.

"We've asked the federal government to help us interdict with testing capacity at Westchester County Airport. Now because we have very few commercial flights right now, it is much harder to deal with the general aviation situation, but we still need FAA approval in order to provide a testing component at the airport," Latimer said.

It's unclear if Latimer's team only wants U.K. travelers tested or if a greater pool of people would be added to the list. News 12 reached out and is still waiting for confirmation about this.

Latimer said he's not overly concerned as of right now since the spread of this new strain appears to be overseas.

However, experts say it's very possible it's here already.

Latimer said controlling the spread state to state will be very difficult.