Trump U-turns on imposing New York quarantine after backlash from governor Andrew Cuomo

Donald Trump has U-turned on imposing a quarantine on New York after outcry from state officials.

The US president had considered trying to isolate the city along with New Jersey and Connecticut in a bid to stem the country's spiralling coronavirus crisis.

But he has now abandoned the idea, and instead plans to issue a "strong travel advisory" to avoid all but essential movement for three weeks.

New York has nearly half of the US total infections - 52,000 of 115,000 - and has recorded more than 700 deaths, against 1,900 nationally.

About 7,300 people were in New York hospitals on Saturday night, including about 1,800 in intensive care.

It comes after Mr Trump told reporters on Saturday: "We'd like to see [New York] quarantined because it's a hotspot... I'm thinking about that."

The state's governor Andrew Cuomo hit back at the plans, branding them "preposterous" and "anti-American".

He had said earlier that roping off states would amount to “a federal declaration of war” and questioned how it would be "legally enforceable".

Mr Cuomo has refused to lock down New York, saying it would "paralyse the financial sector", but said "quarantine" measures such as bans on major gatherings and ordering people to remain at home are in place.

He has postponed the state's presidential primary from April to June amid growing calls from hospitals for more protective equipment.

The governors of Florida, Maryland, South Carolina and Texas have already ordered people arriving from the New York area to self-quarantine for at least 14 days upon arrival.

Meanwhile Rhode Island police have begun pulling over drivers with New York plates to collect contact information and inform them of a mandatory, 14-day quarantine, and soldiers are visiting doorsteps to ask who has recently visited the city.

Mr Cuomo threatened to sue Rhode Island if authorities continued targeting New Yorkers.

The US now has the most confirmed Covid-19 cases in the world after another jump this week.

Additional reporting by Associated Press