PROVIDENCE -- Two weeks after Rhode Island State Police troopers and National Guard members began stopping out-of-state vehicles entering Rhode Island in response to the coronavirus, they are seeing fewer numbers of one kind of traveler.

Those coming to live in the Ocean State for a while.

When authorities began stopping out-of-state cars on March 27, about 20% of those drivers reported they had come to stay, said State Police Col. James Manni.

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Many were New Yorkers with vacation homes in Rhode Island, looking to escape one of the worst hot zones for the virus.

But now the number of travelers who say they are staying is less than 5%, Manni said.

The new number is an indication that “they either already got here [to stay] or they are choosing to shelter-in-place where they are,” Manni said.

Troopers and Guard members are stopping about 1,500 out-of-state cars a day, primarily on Interstate 95, northbound, in the southwest corner of Rhode Island.

Those motorists who say they plan to stay are asked to give their name and address. The information is forwarded to the state Department of Health for possible contact tracing purposes if they come down with the respiratory illness. They are also reminded that Gov. Gina Raimondo has ordered them to self-quarantine for 14 days to ensure they are not spreading the coronavirus.

Those who say they are simply passing through the state are waived through and are not asked to provide any information.

On March 26, Raimondo issued an executive order requiring that all motorists with New York plates be stopped and their drivers questioned about their intentions to stay.

Days later, after the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island raised the constitutional question of unlawful search — and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to sue, citing the same reason — Raimondo broadened her executive order that all out-of-state cars be stopped and their drivers questioned.

Raimondo had days earlier issued a similar directive, ordering National Guard members to state airports and bus terminals to question out-of-state travelers.

tmooney@providencejournal.com

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