Gov. Abbott: Quarantine Mandated For Travelers Coming To Texas From New York Area
DFW AIRPORT (CBSDFW.COM) — In an eerily empty Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, a flight from New York arrived without any passengers.
There wasn't a single one on the plane, the flight crew confirmed.
A new executive order from Governor Greg Abbott may serve as a further deterrence for anyone considering making the trip from New York to Texas.
"The New York tri-state area is the center of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States," said Abbott.
Beginning Saturday, his order will mandate anyone who does fly to Texas from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or New Orleans complete a 14-day quarantine.
According to the order, travelers from those areas will be stopped by state troopers as they walk off their planes and asked to complete a form identifying where they'll be confining themselves.
Troopers will be tasked with making unannounced visits to those quarantine locations to verify people are, in fact, there and that they don't have any visitors.
"Failure to comply with this order is considered to be a criminal offense punishable by $1,000 fine… or 180 days in jail," said Gov. Abbott.
Florida's governor enacted a similar order earlier this week requiring those from the New York tri-state area isolate themselves.
A rather large loophole in the orders, though, are that they only apply to travelers who arrive by plane.
The CDC, though, has already recommended anyone leaving greater New York area voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days, as a precaution.
"Do you like my corona fuzz?" joked Plano mayor Harry La Rosiliere, via Skype from his house where he said he's chosen to quarantine himself after his daughters returned home, one of them from New York.
"I'm fine. No symptoms. But I won't ask my citizens to do anything I'm not willing to do," he said.