TALLAHASSEE – Florida will establish road checkpoints along the Panhandle border to quarantine drivers who have been to Louisiana. This reinforces Governor Ron DeSantis’ efforts to prevent visitors from preventing the coronavirus “hot spots” from spreading the disease in his state.
The Florida Highway Patrol will install checkpoints on roads that cross the Alabama state border. Louisiana visitors are encouraged to isolate themselves for 14 days and must tell the soldiers where they want to stay. This information is passed on to the local authorities.
“All we’re trying to do is bring our residents to safety here,” DeSantis told reporters protect our people on Friday. “
When the heads of state passed a patchwork to defend against the corona virus, President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would issue guidelines for a targeted approach from county to county. At least two other states, including Texas and Rhode Island, followed Florida’s leadership this week to discourage visitors and isolate travelers from places where the virus is spreading rapidly.
Trump praised Florida’s move on Friday.
“We are very strong when it comes to people who don’t leave, especially to certain states, and to other states where they have fewer problems. They keep hearing about people leaving New York and going to Florida. And New York is it obviously. ” a hot spot, “Trump told reporters in the White House.
The restrictions on drivers are extended by a regulation signed by DeSantis on Monday, requiring visitors from the New York area to be quarantined for two weeks. According to DeSantis, around 3,400 people have been examined under the original order.
New Orleans is located about 200 miles west of Pensacola, which is near the Alabama state border. The two states are largely separated by the Perdido River, which can be crossed by Interstate 10, US Route 90 and Old Pensacola Road.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said he understood why other governors might impose restrictions on people from his state due to the rapid increase in cases.
“I encourage Louisiana people to stay at home,” Edwards told reporters on Friday. “I think there should be a small number of people on their way to Texas or Florida. I have my hands full here to respond to this crisis and I will not guess or criticize what other governors are doing or not doing. “
DeSantis said the new checkpoints would be placed on major roads. The road checkpoints do not apply to commercial traffic, DeSantis said.
“It is the main thoroughfare that comes from other parts of the Gulf Coast,” he said.
The governor also ordered the vacation homes to be closed for the next two weeks to keep visitors from hotspots like New York and New Orleans.
Airbnb spokesman Sam Randall said his company had not yet seen the DeSantis order.
At least 34 people in Florida have died from the virus, and 2,765 have been tested positive, according to the Department of Health.
About half of the people in Florida who tested positive for the virus are in the Broward and Miami-Dade counties, which causes DeSantis to take action against people traveling to these areas from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In New York City, 25,573 people tested positive, according to a Friday report from the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Louisiana has reported 2,746 people who tested positive for the virus. According to a Louisiana Department of Health website, 1,170 of them are located in the New Orleans area.