Rhode Island National Guard to Conduct House-to-House Searches For People Who Came From New York
By Cassandra Fairbanks
The Rhode Island police and National Guard are going to begin searching houses for people who came to their state from New York and demand that they self-quarantine.
On Friday, police in the state began stopping people with New York license plates.
“Right now we have a pinpointed risk,” Governor Gina Raimondo said, according to a report from Bloomberg. “That risk is called New York City.”
The Democratic governor said that she considered closing the border to the state, but since she couldn’t, she is heavily enforcing quarantines.
“Yesterday I announced and today I reiterated: Anyone coming to Rhode Island in any way from New York must be quarantined,” the governor said. “By order. Will be enforced. Enforceable by law.”
An executive order signed by Raimondo on Thursday imposes a mandatory quarantine on anyone who enters RI through passenger vehicle, train or bus from New York. The travellers must provide their information to law enforcement and self quarantine for two weeks — as well as anyone who has been to New York in the last two weeks.