Coronavirus: Barrington Tells Returning NY Visitors To Quarantine

BARRINGTON, RI — Barrington Town Manager Jim Cunha has issued a directive advising all those in town who have been to New York recently to self-quarantine for 14 days. The directive is in addition to the state's requirement that all those flying into to Rhode Island quarantine for two weeks.

About half of the state's cases involve travel, Gov. Gina Raimondo said on Monday. Starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, anyone flying into the state was to be required to self-quarantine in their home for 14 days. National Guard staff will be stationed at T.F. Green Airport to greet travelers and collect contact information to help facilitate contact tracing, Raimondo said.

As for interstate commuters, the governor again urged all employers who are able to do so to allow their employees to work from home to help cut down on the number of people driving in and out of neighboring states.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE TOWN MANAGER JIM CUNHA: Effectively immediately, all Barrington residents and visitors that have recently visited New York state are directed to self-quarantine for a period of fourteen (14) days from the day they left the State of New York.
— Barrington Town Hall (@RI_Barrington) March 24, 2020

As of Wednesday morning, New York state has more than half of all confirmed positive coronavirus cases in the United States, with a concentration in New York City.

Although Gov. Raimondo has not taken statewide action, the governor encouraged individual town and cities leaders to take shelter-in-place actions as they see fit, especially in coastal areas with a slot of out-of-state homeowners. Several communities, particularly Newport and Westerly, have reported an influx of part-time residents from New York and other states, Raimondo said. These summer homeowners are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days to help prevent the spread of the virus within these communities.

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