Texas tightens rules on neighboring Louisiana over virus
A sign along I-10 informing persons who travel from Louisiana to quarantine is shown Sunday, March 29, 2020, in Beaumont, Texas. The state is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
During a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas Governor Greg Abbott holds a new executive order stating that travel from other states will be limited and subject to 14-day self quarantine, Sunday, March 29, 2020. He also announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas The space can expand to nearly 1,400 beds. Joining him are Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd (left) and former State Representative Dr. John Zerwas (right). (Tom Fox/The Dalla…
Mia Davis, center, poses as he husband, Gus, takes her picture Sunday, March 29, 2020, at a rest stop along I-10 in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Photos of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is pictured as Texas Governor Greg Abbott (not pictured) announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital there in downtown Dallas during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Sunday, March 29, 2020. For the COVID-19 update and announcement, the Governor was joined by Texas Military Department General Tracy Norris (foreground) and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
A truck passes a welcome sign along I-10 Sunday, March 29, 2020, in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Mia Davis, center, poses as he husband, Gus, takes her picture Sunday, March 29, 2020, at a rest stop along I-10 in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Sunday, March 29, 2020. The space can expand to nearly 1,400 beds. Joining him was former State Representative Dr. John Zerwas (left) and Texas Department of State Health Services Commissioner John Hellerstedt, MD. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
Mia Davis, center, poses as he husband, Gus, takes her picture Sunday, March 29, 2020, at a rest stop along I-10 in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (right) announced the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (see on this map) in downtown Dallas during a press conference with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Brigadier General Paul Owen (left) at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Sunday, March 29, 2020. The space can expanded to 1,400 beds. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced new executive orders listing the US Army Corps of Engineers and the state are putting up a 250-bed field hospital at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Sunday, March 29, 2020. The space can expand to nearly 1,400 beds. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)
Gus and Mia Davis take a photograph at a rest stop, Sunday, March 29, 2020, in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington, D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Gus and Mia Davis take a photograph at a rest stop Sunday, March 29, 2020, in Orange, Texas near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Gus Davis, right, takes a photograph of his wife, Mia, at a rest stop, Sunday, March 29, 2020, in Orange, Texas, near the Louisiana border. The couple is moving from Washington, D.C. to San Antonio. Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for the new coronavirus in the U.S. Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas is ratcheting up restrictions on neighboring Louisiana, one of the growing hot spots for coronavirus in the U.S., and preparing Dallas' downtown convention center to house infected patients as Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday announced a sweeping series of moves to both slow and manage the growing pandemic.
Just two days after Texas began requiring airline passengers from New Orleans to comply with a two-week quarantine, Abbott said state troopers will now also patrol highway entry points at the Louisiana border and require “everyone stopped" in those cars to also self-isolate. Abbott's order requires drivers to fill out a form listing where they will quarantine in Texas.
But how aggressively Texas troopers will patrol incoming traffic wasn't immediately clear. Hours after Abbott's announcement, traffic both in and out of Texas was freely moving along Interstate 10 near the Sabine River that divides Texas and Louisiana. No state troopers were seen patrolling the interstate, although multiple highway electronic signs in both directions warned drivers that “Personal travel from Louisiana must quarantine.'"
More than 3,500 Louisiana residents have been diagnosed with the disease caused by a new coronavirus, and more than 150 of them have died, according to state figures released Sunday.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Abbott also said airline passengers arriving from Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago or anywhere from California or Washington state must also quarantine for 14 days, or risk jail time if they don't comply. And as the virus spreads throughout Texas jails, Abbott issued an order prohibiting bond for anyone arrested on charges related to physical violence or with past convictions for violent offenses.
Texas has more than 2,500 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, and at least 34 related deaths.
Nearly 500 cases are in Dallas, according to a running count by Johns Hopkins University. Abbott said there is currently enough beds in the Dallas and across Texas to treat patients, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the city's convention center could be set up to house as many as 1,400 people if needed.
It would be first temporary hospital for coronavirus patients in Texas, and Abbott said the state is looking at options in other cities.
“Our job is to make sure that we're looking one, two, three, four weeks ahead, and make sure that Texas is going to be prepared to meet the needs of your communities if COVID-19 continues to increase," Abbott said.
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Associated Press photojournalist David Phillip contributed to this report.