DESPERATE TIMES

Rhode Island Plans to Track Down New Yorkers to Enforce Two-Week COVID-19 Quarantine

“Right now we have a pinpointed risk,” Governor Gina Raimondo said. “That risk is called New York City.”

Rhode Island began to stop vehicles with New York license plates on Friday in an effort to keep the coronavirus from spreading from the Big Apple—considered to be the U.S. epicenter of the virus. According to Bloomberg and Providence Journal, the National Guard and law enforcement will also go door-to-door on Saturday in shore communities to look for New Yorkers, collect their contact information, and enforce a 14-day quarantine. If any violators are caught, they could face a $500 fine and 90 days in prison. The actions were spurred by an executive order signed by Governor Gina Raimondo on Thursday. It will be enforceable to anyone who had been in New York in the past two weeks, and it will last until April 25. “Right now we have a pinpointed risk,” Raimondo said. “That risk is called New York City.”

The National Guard is also expected to be present at T.F. Green airport, Amtrak train stations and at bus stops in the state. Rhode Island only has just over 200 cases of the coronavirus, while New York has at least 44,000 confirmed cases.