Vermont Governor Phil Scott ordered all lodging, including hotels, Airbnb and campgrounds, to suspend operations on Monday.
Scott said the new order further clarified the types of lodging that he suspended last week.
The order suspending lodging applies to hotels, bed and breakfasts, as well as short-term rentals such as Airbnb and campgrounds, Scott said. That includes online advertising and booking, he said.
“If you don’t need to come to Vermont, please don’t,” he said. “This is about public health and safety which is our top priority.”
Scott issued a stay-at-home order on March 26. “We need everyone to limit activities outside of the home and to practice social distancing at all times to slow the spread of this highly contagious and potentially deadly virus,” Scott said at the time.
His new order comes after Vermont’s lodging properties – there are 318 – were checked for compliance this weekend.
Lodging establishments can only provide housing for health care, public safety and other essential workers, state-organized emergency shelter for homeless individuals; use of of quarantine facilities as arranged by the state; and limited “extenuating circumstances” for the care and safety of the state’s residents.
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling said state police and local enforcement checked all of those 318 lodging properties in the state over the weekend for compliance. Last week, Scott ordered all lodging in the state to be suspended.
Of those properties, which did not include Airbnb properties and other short-term vacation rentals, 88 were open.
The governor’s order allows “existing guests to remain through the end of their scheduled stays.” However, they can’t allow extended stays or book new reservations except for under exceptions listed above.
Schirling said half of the 88 properties that were open were compliant with the governor’s order, meaning they are housing military members, visiting nurses, flight crews and other essential personnel.
Schirling said the other 44 properties that appear to be non-compliant received a letter from the Vermont Department of Health and the Vermont Department of Public Safety yesterday telling them to bring their operations into compliance.
The Vermont Attorney General’s Office will be following up with them today.
Regular monitoring will continue, Shirling said, adding that would look like law enforcement in the parking lot and checking in with staff to ensure compliance.
“Again, this relates exclusively to the health of Vermonters and the capacity of our health care system,” he said.
Scott also announced a new order today that tells anyone who enters Vermont from another state to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“That means heading directly to where you’re going with no stops in-between,” Scott said in a news conference.
CNN’s Molly Silverman contributed to this story.
