Rhode Island pulls over New Yorkers to keep the virus at bay

The states are increasingly finding themselves pitted against one another, as they bid for scarce medical equipment, angle for federal aid and demand that nonresidents self-quarantine.

Few, though, have gone yet to the lengths Rhode Island has to try to keep the potentially infected at bay, especially those from New York, the biggest hot spot in the country.

Gov. Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, said on Friday that if New Yorkers entering the state did not quarantine themselves for 14 days after arrival, they would be fined and, if they continued to flout the order, arrested.

“That’s a law — that’s an order,” Ms. Raimondo said. “It comes with penalties. It’s not a suggestion.”