Federal officials need to test and consider restricting travelers from the United Kingdom flying into New York City for a new variant of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said. 

"How many times in life do you have to make the same mistake before you learn?" Cuomo said in a Sunday afternoon conference call.

There are six flights from the UK into John F. Kennedy International Airport, Cuomo said. New York is actively testing for the variant and other mutations in the virus, Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said. 

The last time New York found a mutation in testing was in April, Zucker said. 

"Where is HHS? Where is CDC? Where is the NIH? This is the same mistake and literally six flights a day and all it takes is one person," Cuomo said. 

The concern over the UK variant of the virus comes amid an upswing in COVID-19 numbers in New York and across the country. Hospitalizations in New York have reached 6,185 patients and 9,957 new cases were confirmed, a positive rate of just over 5%. 

New York is rolling out a vaccination program for at-risk health care workers and nursing home residents and staff. UK officials expect the vaccines to work against the new varient, but Cuomo suggested he is skeptical. 

State officials do not have the power to block or halt travelers from the UK who were not tested for the mutation, Cuomo said. 

"The Port Authority has no authority to ban passengers, health monitor passengers. It's federal," Cuomo said. "Doing nothing is negligent. It's grossly negligent. Just like the spring. Because doing nothing is doing something."