Three Monroe County legislators are pressing the Wolf administration to crack down on Airbnb renters to stop advertising Pocono accommodations to New York City and New Jersey residents wanting to escape from hot spots for the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Sen. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe and Northampton, said it’s working. He thanked the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau for working with him and state Reps. Maureen Madden, D-Monroe, and Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe and Pike, in their efforts to temporarily ban short-term rentals while Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home order is in place.

“As a former resident of New York City,” Scavello said, “I appreciate people and families traveling to Pennsylvania to vacation and enjoy all the beauty we have to offer; however, our state, under the governor’s order, is on lockdown.”

Madden renewed her request to the Wolf administration that she originally made last week to “shut down Airbnb, short-term and home-away-from-home rentals.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Lindsay Kensinger, said Tuesday night that “the governor agrees that short-term rental properties should not be in operation and the administration is working on guidance to address this.”

The ads have contributed to an influx of New York and New Jersey visitors to Monroe, Carbon and Pike counties, officials said. And it’s risking the health and safety of those who live there.

The influx of out-of-state residents is infuriating Pocono residents who complain that supermarket parking lots are “loaded” with vehicles with New York and New Jersey license plates. Not only are they possibly endangering residents, but they also are scooping up limited merchandise and putting a further strain on the available health care services at St. Luke’s Monroe Campus and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono in East Stroudsburg.

Scavello said since he posted his concern about short-term rental ads on Sunday, a number of advertisers have heeded his concern.

“Many have pulled advertisements down; for that I want to personally thank you. For those who have not, I strongly recommend you take them down immediately,” Scavello said.

He also said any short-term rentals advertising on their website, Facebook or any other medium, will be reported to the state police. He also enlisted the help of the public to take a screenshot of any ads and send them to scavello@pasen.gov, and he will send a copy to the state police.

One ad sent to Scavello urged tri-state residents to “escape from the epicenter” and offered “coronavirus-free” accommodations for up to 16 people “at discounted prices.”

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said that the Wolf administration is aware of the legislators’ and Pocono residents’ concerns. “We know that many of the bus lines have stopped those trips (to New York City), and they’ve done that voluntarily, which is a really good sign,” Levine said. “And I know that the governor’s office is discussing that issue in terms of individuals from New York or potentially New Jersey coming into the Pocono area and the concerns.”

Brown called the ads “socially irresponsible.” While the region appreciates the tourism and employment provided by New York and New Jersey vacationers, these are much different times when out-of-state residents need to stay home until the danger has passed, she said.

Brian Downs, spokesman for Lehigh Valley Health Network, said he issued an alert more than a week ago that residents should not travel to and from New York City because of the high risk of spreading and catching the contagion.

“We were already observing that issue then, March 19. And we are seeing patients from locations like New York that have come to Monroe County since the crisis began despite the call for people in our state and surrounding states not to travel unless it’s absolutely necessary and to stay home. These include New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.”

Wolf wants people who have been to New York City to self-isolate for 14 days. Commuters still employed in the city who go back and forth called this unreasonable.

As of Tuesday, Monroe had reported 236 cases and seven deaths, the second highest number of fatalities in the state next to Philadelphia’s 10. To put the frequency of cases into perspective, the number in Monroe compared to the overall population of about 169,000 is 0.13%. Philadelphia’s ratio is 0.08%. In Montgomery County, the first hot spot in Pennsylvania, the ratio is 0.07%.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.