Travelers coming to TX from Louisiana must quarantine, Abbott says as part of new orders
People flying or driving from Louisiana into Texas or travelers flying into the state from various locations will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced in a press conference about COVID-19 Sunday afternoon.
Abbott also announced a Dallas-Fort Worth convention center will serve as a temporary medical facility for coronavirus patients if needed.
The governor also passed new quarantine restrictions for travelers coming from additional cities and states into Texas to try and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In the first executive order, Abbott announced travelers from Louisiana, whether they are flying or driving, will be required to self-quarantine for two weeks if they cross the border into Texas.
Abbott also extended a previous order Sunday requiring travelers flying from Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago or the states of California or Washington to self-quaratine for two weeks. Travelers who are driving will not be required to self-quarantine.
On March 26, Abbott announced visitors flying to Texas from New Orleans, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut would need to self-quarantine. This does not include travel related to commercial services, military service, emergency response, health response or critical infrastructure jobs.
Abbott also passed a second executive order to prohibit the release of “dangerous criminals” from jails and prisons. In the executive order, Abbott said this applies to the release of people with a history of violent offenses or the threat of committing physical violence.
The order prohibits coronavirus-related releases of felons from jails and prisons.
Many jails, including Tarrant County jail, were not holding some inmates at the jail to help prevent the spread of the virus. The Tarrant County sheriff’s department was avoiding taking people to jail who are not a threat to society, officials said, and the jail population was at a two-year low.
“We want to reduce and contain COVID-19 in jails and in prisons for the benefit of inmates, law enforcement and staff of those facilities,” Abbott said. “But releasing dangerous criminals from jails into the streets is not the right solution. And doing so is now prohibited by law by this declaration.”
Hospital beds, Dallas convention center
Abbott said the state had more than enough hospital beds to take care of current and future patients, but officials were planning for the worst-case scenario as a precaution.
As of March 26, there were 16,000 hospitals beds available in the state, Abbott said. The hospital capacity grew after Abbott passed orders that prohibited elective procedures and required hospital rooms to double up on beds if possible.
“As of today, we have plenty of hospital capacity to respond to the needs of our communities,” Abbott said.
The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas will open as a temporary medical center if needed. The center would have 250 beds and the capacity to expand that number as needed, Abbott announced.
“And if we do have a massive increase with people who need hospitalization, we have the ability to go to other locations in the DFW region,” Abbott said.
He did not specify what those locations would be.
Abbott also deployed the National Guard Task Force Brigade to help with healthcare infrastructure in Texas, and the Army Corps of Engineers was tasked with finding other facilities that could become temporary medical centers if needed.
As for ventilators, Abbott said officials don’t know how many the state will need, but said Texas has enough for now.
As of Sunday, 25,484 Texans have been tested for coronavirus and of those, 2,552 were confirmed positive across 118 counties.
Thirty-four people with coronavirus had died.
Abbott said less than 10% of those tested for coronavirus tested positive, and of those who have coronavirus, less than 10% have to be hospitalized.
The governor emphasized that people should continue to stay home, as that was the only way to get the state back to normal quickly.
“We are engaged in a war. A war that threatens public health and the lives of some of you,” Abbott said. “You have all the tools you need for you to personally win this war.”
This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 4:10 PM.
