Rhode Islanders Who Disobey Quarantine Order Will Face Fines

Rhode Island residents who’ve tested positive for Covid-19 must stay home under quarantine until their symptoms are gone or face being fined, Gov. Gina Raimondo ordered Thursday.

As of Thursday, 2,243 residents were in quarantine, according to Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the state’s health director.

The governor’s executive order will let authorities impose civil penalties, including “a series of fines” against those who violate orders to stay home to help slow the spread of the coronovirus, Raimondo (D) said at a Thursday media briefing.

The order also requires that close contacts of those testing positive for the virus must quarantine for 14 days, as well as visitors who area staying and not just passing through the state.

Fines will be in the “hundreds-of-dollars range,” Raimondo said, adding that the exact amount hadn’t been determined and that regulations governing her order “will be out in a day or two.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Stinson in Austin, Texas at pstinson@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tina May at tmay@bloomberglaw.com; Katherine Rizzo at krizzo@bgov.com