New Yorkers attempting to flee the state as the coronavirus pandemic overwhelms local hospitals will be placed into quarantine if they cross into Rhode Island.
On Friday, Gov. Gina Raimondo instructed Rhode Island state police to stop any vehicles with New York license plates, and anyone found to be traveling from the state will be placed into quarantine for 14 days.
“Right now, we have a pinpointed risk,” Raimondo said during a Friday afternoon press briefing. “That risk is called New York City. I know it’s unusual. I know it’s extreme, and I know some people disagree with it. If you want to seek refuge in Rhode Island, you must be quarantined.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed the move, saying he didn’t appreciate the societal ramifications of such a declaration.
“I don’t like it socially or culturally,” Cuomo said Friday during a radio appearance on WAMC. “I don’t like what it says about us as one state, one family. Also, I don’t believe it’s medically justified.”
On Friday, tensions boiled over along the border of a Chinese province that was the original epicenter of the coronavirus as riot police clashed with residents seeking to leave the afflicted region.
