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FHP Sets Up Checkpoint On I-10 To Enforce State COVID-19 Travel Restrictions
March 29, 2020
The Florida Highway Patrol set up a checkpoint on I-10 eastbound entering Florida on Saturday to enforce an order issued by Gov. Ron DeSantis concerning travelers from areas with significant COVID-19 community spread.
On Friday, DeSantis announced there would be checkpoints entering the state after he added Louisiana to the state’s self-quarantine requirements to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
DeSantis said counties and the Florida Highway Patrol will be able to enforce the requirements at checkpoints on the “main thoroughfares” into Florida, including I-10. Drivers from Louisiana, New York, New Jersey or Connecticut are pulled aside for further screening. They are required to isolate for a period of 14 days upon entry to Florida or for the duration of their visit, whichever is shorter, and should be prepared for additional monitoring by the Florida Department of Health.
Upon entry in Florida, each arriving traveler or responsible family member (if traveling as a family) will be required to complete a traveler form. The form requires key information, including each traveler’s contact information and trip details. Failure to complete the form and failure to follow any isolation or quarantine order from DOH are a violation of Florida law.
Additionally, travelers from the targeted states are provided with a traveler card, which has contact information and guidance in the event the traveler exhibits symptoms while in isolation that are attributed to COVID-19, including fever, cough, or shortness of breath.
The Florida Highway Patrol is staffing the I-10 checkpoint at the Alabama/Florida line 24 hours a day with about 16 troopers per 12 hour shift..
Commercial vehicles are allowed to bypass the checkpoint.
A second checkpoint will be created on I-95 on Florida’s northern border to screen for travelers from the New York area, DeSantis announced Saturday.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
35 Responses to “FHP Sets Up Checkpoint On I-10 To Enforce State COVID-19 Travel Restrictions”
Commercial vehicles get to go through on I-10 at the Florida Alabama line no matter where they came from. What? I know
why they are doing it so they can get their load delivered but isn’t this defeating the purpose? Doesn’t the governor and everybody else know that a lot of people are going to lie about what states they have visited especially if it’s one of the states in question? What about the other roads people are traveling into the State of Florida to bypass this checkpoint or just entering the State of Florida from other roadways? Do you really think if they do say yes to the questions, fill out the form, that they are really going to quarantine theirselves? Probably not. I don’t know what the answer is, but I don’t see how the procedure taking place at this time is working or will work.
Show me your Papers!
I’m just doing my job.
I’m from the government, I’m here to help.
Is there any new information about this? I am hoping
To travel to Mississippi State for a month long visit with
My kids and grandbabies, we had this planned
For almost a year now. Had to postpone it last
Month for this covid 19 epidemic. This sucks the
Big one. Should I stay or can I go? Heart breaking.
i think when it first started the govern should of done alot more then what he is doing now. i lost my job i have a 750 rent bill i cant pay and i have ason thats 7 with kidney problems and because of the govern my baby and me are going to be on the street with no where to go i have no family . i dont know anyone or what the hell im going to do . ive never been so scared in all my life and im 40 years old lord please help everyone in the world amen
Citizen, Desantis should have shut everything down earlier, especially the beaches, considering we were being bombarded with spring breakers. I think he’s shown a serious lack of judgement and innocent people will suffer the consequences.
Here is my thoughts on this after having to call the phone number for the “drive thru testing at SHH” – people can just lie and there’s no way they will ever know so they are excused (and no I did not lie). If someone is trying to get back home from wherever – do you think they are going to tell those cops they were in Louisiana or one of the other high risk states? Hell no! Same on the testing questions. They asked me 3 questions- 1) Have you traveled Internationally in the past 30 days – No 2) Have you been on a cruise in the past 30 days – No 3) Have you had fever in the past 2 weeks – No. Their response – you don’t meet the criteria to have to do the testing so who is your primary doctor so I can send them the ok for you to return to work!
That was it – now I’m no doctor but that seemed to be a very mediocre questionnaire for such a deadly virus in my opinion. And like I said, if I was one of those people who was desperate to go back to work to support my family (thank goodness I’m not in that category), I could have easily answered the questions to suit whatever my situation was. My point is – 3 questions to a potential virus carrier? That is crazy to me. This is going to get much worse for everyone so please stay out of the public as much as possible and for God’s sake-PLEASE keep your children at home! I pray for all of us – that’s all we are going to have in the end.
NOT LEGAL on March 29th, 2020 8:58 am
Fly to Hawaii before Covid-19 issue ever started and you had to answer written questions before you ever disembark the plane.
So YES, it is legal!
Too bad they did not do this after Katrina. Maybe the crime rate would not be so high in Pensacola.
@Cory
Do you actually think that LEO’s would WANT to put ourselves knowingly in harms was by stopping vehicles from known hot spots and initiating contact with them JUST to tell them the same thing that the news has been telling them for the last month? Then to go back to our familys with that? I agree with @fisherman. Stay away from Florida.
@Cory
Then you should not come to Florida.I have a great idea for the Government just sit back and let the entire country do what it wants to do. When people start dying in the thousands just say we tried to do something to prevent this but you didn’t want us to do it.
Any citizen who agrees with this should go live in North Korea because that is where they belong. To force a citizen to tell the authorities where they are staying is as unconstitutional as can be. This is a national disgrace. Citizens who haven’t broken the law should be left alone by LAW ENFORCEMENT. Protect and serve, more like sit and collect. I thought I live in a Free Republic. Never will I tell the govt. where I’m staying when I enter Florida.
Great idea. However, 2 months way to late. If anything Louisiana should block US since our state has never been on a 2 week shutdown and we have the virus way before Louisiana had it.
More and more states are also restricting travelers from the “hot spots”, Texas is also stopping those from New York and New Orleans, to self quarantine. I’m all for it, this is an emergency situation and we’ve got to stop the spread. We know more about this virus today than we did last week, definitely more than a month ago. Thank you Gov DeSantis!
Only strong as the weakest link – many many weak links. Many complications because of a virus that threatens humanity.
This sure isn’t an issue we ever had on our plate a couple months ago. No one has the most right or only right answer. Keeping our liberty in tact will not be easy. For sure when this CV-19 mess is over we had better make a loud and constant roar for those liberties be restored 100%. It will not be easy and we will have politicians who will likely take advantage of this situation to further their power grab. Vet Vet and then Vet all folks who are seeking your vote.
@ Henry Coe
The specific law being violated is executing order 20-86.
Hey any of you detractors got a better idea? I would love to hear it.
I’m driving from PA back home to Florida , can I do that? Or am I being forced to stay out of home? I need a straight answer
I love it. People need to stay the heck at home.
So glad De Santis was elected.
Florida statute chapter 14 clearly gives the governor authority to make emergency orders in times like this.
This is nothing new, it just isnt used very often so it seems like an over reach of authority. Keeping sick people out of our state is to protect us all, not violate our rights.
It may be effective, it may not. At least they are trying something.
I work on an offshore rig 28/28 also & haven’t been exposed to any infected people . I’ll be taking the back way home .
What is the specific law being violated if someone fails to comply?
I guess all those Florida people who went to Mardi Gras get a free pass? DeSantis should have closed all the beaches before Spring Break and prevented the waste of money and time now. But NOOOOO, he needed all that money – the heck with public health. Keep voting red folks…it’s the color of blood.
If the American people had enough sense to stay at home and not continue to travel all over the damn place, this wouldn’t be necessary!!!
@NOT LEGAL,
Would you rather martial law be declared and ALL your Constitutional rights go out the window?
Show some intelligence, folks! Stay at home, and none of these things will happen, and you won’t have anything to complain about!!!!!
At least someone is making a effort to deter this situation. I would like to hear your ideas. I am sorry for the person that has been on the oil rig. We can get through this together,if we we work together,as Americans have always done. I have
been training for this my whole life. My parents kept me on restriction my whole life, and to care and love your world . Be safe neighbors. My favorite Bible verse states : This Too Shall Pass .
“Traveler cards”?
Oh, my. I agree: COVID-19 is convenient “window dressing “.
Governor, due to your failure you now want to blame the spread on people from other states. You sold out to businesses and huge donors to your campaign to keep the beaches open. You failed the poor and middle class in our state. Don’t buy his deflections.
These Draconian efforts are triggers for further anxiety that Americans are under siege. First we are told that we are in this all together…but this proves that some citizens are better and should be protected from the “others”.
No hate. Just an opinion. Be Safe
This is an over step by the government. Anyone who is required to fill out these forms from one of those state is a constitutional violation before anyone comments on my post this is how The end of your freedom starts. Just look back in history say around 1931 in certain European country. Yes it a virus and yes people will die from it but none of what they are doing will stop it. All this is doing is allowing the government to take control of all you lemmings. Wake up this country is supposed to be controlled by the people.
This is nice window dressing for the Gov. and a huge waste of time for law enforcement not to mention putting them in possible contact with the virus. It won’t stop many of them because Escambia County has many crossover points with Alabama. This is not all but most of them: Perdido Key, Hwy 98, Hwy 90, Muskogee, Barrineau Park, Pineville, Rockaway Creek, Jones, Hwy 97, Hodges, Cassidy, McElhanney, Morton, Wawbeek, Hwy 99, Pine Barren, Creamer, Killiam,Tulip, Hwy 29, Highland, Old Flomation, Fannie Roads.
Thanks Gov.
The traffic jam is going to be horrendous.
That’s one way to jeopardize the health of the Troopers.
Expose them to thousands of face to face interactions daily. Well done.
I can’t wait to see what Louisiana does in retaliation for this. I saw the “Checkpoint Charlie” out there yesterday; looks very police state.
What about us offshore workers who have been on a boat with the same crew for 28 days, never been in contact with anyone else, have our crew change suspended until further notice, don’t know when we will be relieved, and when we do get off, we will be stopped at the border on our way home, have to isolate for 14 days after we have been isolated for a month or more already.