Washington, DC (CNN) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday in an interview with CNN that he didn't believe a possible New York quarantine was legal and that it would be a "federal declaration of war" after President Donald Trump said he was considering such a tactic for the New York metro area as US coronavirus cases increase.

"It would be chaos and mayhem," Cuomo told CNN's Ana Cabrera. "It's totally opposite everything he's been saying. I don't think it is plausible. I don't think it is legal."

More than 52,000 of the nation's over 113,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in New York state alone. And officials are forecasting that the apex of the pandemic there is still 14 to 21 days away.

"This would be a federal declaration of war on states," Cuomo said, adding that he doesn't think the President is looking to start a war with states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel advisory regarding the three states about an hour after Trump announced in a tweet that he had asked the agency to do so, saying that a quarantine would not be necessary.

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