COVID-19 Checkpoints Coming? States Begin Monitoring Their Borders For Outsiders

All of a sudden, people all over the country are very afraid of travelers from New York, Louisiana and other COVID-19 "hotspots" across the nation.  

In fact, as you will see below, some states are now trying to intercept travelers from other states and force them into quarantine.  Measures that would have been unthinkable just a few short weeks ago have now become a reality, and things are likely to get even crazier in the days ahead.  

If this pandemic is causing this much fear already even though less than 3,000 Americans have died so far, what will the level of fear be if 30,000 or 300,000 Americans die?

 

Unfortunately, many experts are now warning that the death toll will eventually get very high in this country.  For example, on Sunday Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN that he expects to see more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. alone...

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top expert on infectious diseases, predicted Sunday that the United States will end up with "millions" of cases of coronavirus and up to 200,000 deaths by the time the pandemic ends, though he cautioned that any projection of mortality statistics could "easily" end up being wrong.

"Looking at what we're seeing now, I would say between 100,000-200,000 deaths," Fauci said in an interview on CNN's "State of the Union."

This virus spreads so easily from person to person, and once it gets loose in a city it can spread like wildfire.

Right now, New York City is being hit harder than anywhere else in the country.  At this point close to 700 members of the NYPD have tested positive for the virus, and the public transportation system is being flooded with calls from sick employees...

The MTA's 24-hour hot line for workers with coronavirus symptoms is constantly crashing because it's being flooded with calls -- and higher-ups are bracing for a mass sickout, transit insiders told The Post.

Bus and subway employees already called out sick at three times the normal rate last week, prompting the MTA to dramatically reduce service.

Overall, the death toll in New York has reached nearly 1,000, and many believe that what we have seen so far is just the beginning.

Needless to say, hospitals are rapidly being overwhelmed, and basic medical supplies are being used up fast.

Fortunately, a lot of outside help is coming in.  On Sunday, I was greatly encouraged to learn that Samaritan's Purse is actually putting up a field hospital in Central Park...

Dozens of people worked in a drizzle to erect the facility for an expected influx of COVID-19 patients at the epicenter of the US coronavirus pandemic.

Samaritan's Purse, a US-based Christian global relief agency, is setting up the hospital on the park's East Meadow lawn, where workers in face masks unloaded a white tarp and other equipment on the grass. The site is right across from one of the facilities in the Mount Sinai hospital group.

But as other states have watched the nightmare that is currently unfolding in New York, they have become greatly alarmed, and some have even taken measures to try to prevent New Yorkers from spreading the virus to their communities.

Beginning on Friday, authorities in Rhode Island started stopping vehicles "with New York plates", and any New Yorkers that were discovered were forced into "14 days of self-quarantine"...

Rhode Island police began stopping cars with New York plates Friday. On Saturday, the National Guard will help them conduct house-to-house searches to find people who traveled from New York and demand 14 days of self-quarantine.

"Right now we have a pinpointed risk," Governor Gina Raimondo said. "That risk is called New York City."

When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo found out about this, he went ballistic, because it specifically discriminated against citizens of his state.

So Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo later expanded the directive to include anybody coming into Rhode Island from any other state...

Gov. Gina Raimondo instead has expanded the order to include 'any person' coming to Rhode Island from another state to 'immediately self-quarantine for 14 days'.

The directive, signed late Saturday, does not apply to health workers or those working in public safety. It reads: 'Any person coming to Rhode Island from another state for a non-work-related purpose must immediately self-quarantine for 14 days.'

Of course Rhode Island is basically the size of a postage stamp, and so not that many people are too worried about what they are doing.

But Florida is a much bigger deal.

Florida has already been forcing anyone flying in from New York to self-quarantine for 14 days, and on Friday Governor Ron DeSantis expanded that directive to include anyone traveling into the state from Louisiana...

New Orleans is experiencing a coronavirus surge of more than 1,000 infections linked to the Mardi Gras celebration in February, sending Louisiana's total number of cases past 3,300 as of Saturday. DeSantis wants to intercept any Louisiana travelers from "seeding" the virus in Florida.

It's about a three-hour drive from New Orleans to Pensacola, Florida, and panhandle officials had expressed concerns to him about travelers fleeing the Bayou State and carrying the virus into Florida.

In fact, a highway checkpoint has already been set up on Interstate 10 so that police can monitor who is coming into the state...

"Look, we're either trying to fight this virus or we are not," DeSantis said of his plan that includes a checkpoint on Interstate 10 at the Alabama line and National Guard members greeting travelers from the New York City area at airports.

In the days ahead, many more states may start implementing such measures.

Originally published at End Of The American Dream - reposted with permission.