R.I. added to virus list; D.C., Del. off

ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo added Rhode Island to New York’s coronavirus quarantine list Tuesday, while removing D.C. and Delaware from the travel advisory.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, travelers from 34 states, as well as Puerto Rico, are now required to isolate for 14 days if they visit New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

New York’s coronavirus numbers have plummeted since the state became the epicenter of the outbreak in the U.S. back in April. The travel advisory, initially issued in late June, has expanded each week as Cuomo warns of rising infection rates in other states.

“We cannot go back to the hell we experienced just a few months ago — and surging infection rates across the country threaten to bring us back there — so we must all remain vigilant,” he said in a statement.

The move comes months after Cuomo threatened to sue Rhode Island after the state’s National Guard and state police began stopping motorists with New York license plates and going door-to-door to find people who may have traveled recently from the Empire State.

Cuomo and Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo traded barbs at the time over her order mandating anyone traveling to her state from New York to self-quarantine.

The order was later rescinded after Cuomo complained it unfairly targeted New Yorkers.

The tristate quarantine doesn’t apply to any particular location; instead, it includes anyone arriving from a virus hotspot with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or anywhere with a 10% or higher infection rate over a seven-day rolling average.

Cuomo reported that the state received results from 70,993 COVID-19 tests on Monday and that 746 were positive, a 1.05% infection rate.

There are currently 568 people hospitalized and three more New Yorkers died of the virus.