STATEWIDE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday added Louisiana to the list of locations from where travelers must self-quarantine after arriving in Florida, and he is suspending all vacation rentals for two weeks.
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At a news conference in his office Tallahassee, DeSantis said arrivals from Louisiana will have to isolate for 14 days, adding to the order already in place for arrivals from New York City and state who are being screened at airports with Florida National Guard troops and Florida Department of Transportation officials.
DeSantis also announced that highway checkpoints would be added on certain roadways to enforce the quarantine.
"There’ll probably be a diversion for folks with certain license plates," DeSantis said, adding that the checkpoints would largely be located in the Florida Panhandle, where travelers from Louisiana are likely to pass through.
The checkpoints were expected to be up and running by 5 p.m. Friday.
On the state's waterways, DeSantis urged the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to increase patrols to cut down on the number of boat parties.
He's also pushing for more coronavirus testing swabs be sent to Hillsborough County, where a public testing site at Raymond James Stadium ran out of its allotment of 900 tests a day early.
Charter Communications has temporarily opened its live stream free to the public. You can watch Spectrum News via our live stream on your desktop or laptop without a subscription by visiting our website and clicking “Watch Live” in the upper right. Charter also is temporarily offering free broadband and wifi access for 60 days to families with K-12 or college students as well as teachers. To enroll, call 1-844-488-8395. The company also will open more than half a million wifi hotspots across the country.
In South Florida, a cruise ship on which four passengers have died hopes to dock in Fort Lauderdale after being inspected by Panamanian authorities.
At least two people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus aboard Holland America's Zaandam, which had 1,243 passengers and 586 crew members aboard. Holland America said more than 50 passengers and 85 crew members had reported to the ship's medical center complaining of flu-like symptoms.
The cruise company hopes to transfer some of the people aboard to the Zaandam to a sister ship, the Rotterdam. It described the deceased passengers as "older guests."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time," Holland America says.
On Thursday, Johns Hopkins University’s interactive coronavirus map listed the U.S. as having the most COVID-19 cases in the world, with China coming in second and Italy third. However, the World Health Organization's tally has U.S. with the world's thirdmost number of coronavirus infections.
Meanwhile, many House members headed back to Washington, where after a morning of contentious debate, lawmakers passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package.