Abbott: Travelers flying from New York area, New Orleans must enter 14-day quarantine

Mar. 26--AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order Thursday requiring anyone flying to Texas from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or the city of New Orleans to enter a mandatory self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

The restrictions will apply only to travelers who fly to Texas from one of those locations -- not by roadway -- Abbott said, and are part of an effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus from other parts of the country. The mandate goes into effect at noon Saturday, and will remain in place until rescinded or superseded.

The New York City region has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., with more than 37,000 confirmed cases and more than 380 deaths in the state of New York alone.

"Our job is not to deal with the situation where we are, but to be constantly looking forward to the worst case scenario of where we may be. We don't want to be in a situation like what New York is in right now," Abbott said during a press conference from the Texas Capitol.

Abbott said the new restrictions are in an effort to align with federal guidance from Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The Texas Department of Public Safety will ensure enforcement of the executive order, and people entering Texas from the designated areas will have to fill out a form from DPS upon their arrival. On the form, travelers will have to provide identifying information, in addition to their designated quarantine location, whether that be a hotel, home or other location, Abbott said.

"Department of Public Safety troopers will conduct visits to those designated quarantine locations to verify compliance with this executive order," Abbott said. "Failure to comply with this order is considered to be a criminal offense that is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail, or both."

During the 14-day quarantine period -- or the length of the person's trip if shorter -- the only visitors allowed into the designated quarantine location will be physicians or healthcare providers, and travelers may not visit public spaces, Abbott said.

People traveling for reasons connected with the military, emergency or health response, or critical-infrastructure functions determined by the Texas Division of Emergency Management will be exempt from the self-quarantine requirements, according to the executive order.

Under the executive order, Abbott may add additional areas to the list in the future. Abbott said that federal officials have not mentioned other states with a high number of confirmed cases, like California or Washington, to include, but those would likely be "the next ones on the list if we were to expand it."

"Now we've seen that even within our own country there are areas of the country where it is very widespread and that spread is accelerating and we need to take appropriate measures," John Hellerstedt, the commissioner of the Texas Department of Health Services, said, "and those appropriate measures are part of this executive order."

When asked about President Donald Trump's hope that the economy will be revived in a little over two weeks by Easter on April 12, Abbott said he understands the "urgent desire" many Americans have for normalcy, but that "it's way too early to tell right now."

"We are such a very powerful economy -- the most powerful economy in the entire world -- it's important for the world, as well as the United States, that the United States get up and running as quickly as possible," Abbott said. "That said, everyone understands that we will all be working off of the best advice of medical professionals about what is the safest way to proceed. We wouldn't want to suddenly open schools and open businesses only to have to shut them down again."

Abbott said perhaps certain employees would be allowed to return to work in waves.

As of Thursday afternoon, Abbott said there have been at least 1,424 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Texas across 90 counties, 18 related deaths, and 100 patients being hospitalized for the illness in Texas currently.

Abbott had previously predicted at least 15,000 tests would be conducted per week, and pointed to the increase in testing from 2,335 people tested last Friday to more than 21,000 people tested as of Thursday.

"We are on a very good trajectory in the increase of the number of people we are testing and I expect that increase to continue," Abbott said, stressing that less than 10% of those tested are positive for COVID-19.

When asked why Texas' testing per capita is lower than other states, Abbott said the state is administering every COVID-19 test it gets.

Abbott said the federal government has prioritized states with higher numbers of COVID-19 related deaths, like New York or Washington, to receive more collection and testing supplies first as testing capabilities ramp up.

"That's why those supplies have begun to reach Texas, which is why we've had such a dramatic increase in the number of tests," Abbott said.

Abbott also recently waived regulations and issued executive orders in an effort to increase hospital capacity, and he said that since those actions more than 3,500 hospital beds have become available -- with more than 2,300 beds available to treat COVID-19 patients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area alone.

Last week, Abbott issued a sweeping executive order that temporarily closes all Texas schools and gyms, prohibits dining-in at bars and restaurants, limits social gatherings to 10 people and restricts visits to nursing homes through April 3.

When asked when schools may resume, Abbott said guidance will be issued soon and that he sees the potential to extend school closures.

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