The Texas Department of Public Safety has troopers and special agents staged at the McAllen International Airport in an effort to determine which travelers are arriving in the Rio Grande Valley from Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and Washington, as well as Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Miami, Florida.
The action is in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring all travelers from these states and cities entering Texas to self-quarantine for 14 days, says DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez.
DPS began the effort Saturday.
Olivarez said the effort is one of self compliance and that troopers won’t be approaching travelers.
Instead, DPS will be outside gates for arriving flights and have a form for people from these states or cities to fill out if they are from one of these states. Those forms will include a section for a phone number and for a location where any individuals will be in self-quarantine.
The form is also available online and can be downloaded from www.dps.texas.gov/covidtravel and filled out before travelers arrive in McAllen.
DPS is stationed at all airports in Texas, per Abbott’s order.
Olivarez said special agents will make unannounced visits to the locations where people self-report they will be under the 14-day quarantine.
If they are not there, they could be charged with a criminal offense.
