Texas Governor Greg Abbott just heightened quarantine rules for residence in certain states by issuing an executive order. The new 14 day quarantine rule now applies to air travelers from Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago and any site in California and Washington state.
We have seen several other countries and states restrict travelers coming in by air travel but to my knowledge there has not been a lot of enforced orders against interstate travel by car.
Unfortunately, a lot of people have ran with misinformation and have claimed that travelers cannot travel from Louisiana to Texas but that is not the case.
I thought this would be a good time to explain how these quarantine laws are being implemented so that people also will understand how the process works in the event that the quarantine rules become more common.
First, there are pretty much always exceptions for certain types of travel like military, commerce, etc.
So rarely if ever will you see an outright ban on all travel into a state. I could only see commerce getting shut down if we were truly in an apocalyptic state which I don’t believe will happen.
Texas is going to set up checkpoints at all entry points into the state from Louisiana.
If you are traveling from Louisiana, you will be required to submit documentation about where you will be self quarantining for the next 14 days. (If you are staying in Texas under 14 days, you will be allowed to leave before then.)
At that quarantine location (such as a hotel or residence), you will be subject to random visits by DPS agents. If you do not follow the guidelines, then you will be subject to punishment in the form of fines or even up to 180 days in jail. While things have been pretty laid-back when it comes to enforcing social distancing with fines, I have a feeling that violating quarantine orders will be something that is enforced much more strictly.
These measures were put into place because Louisiana has become a hotspot for the coronavirus recently. H/T
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
