3,700 people entered Florida via I-10, I-95 from high risk states. None were turned away.

Colin Warren-Hicks
Pensacola News Journal

Robert Bell cruised home Tuesday afternoon on his 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle, riding steadily eastward from Louisiana toward Cantonment along Interstate 10, until an unexpected pit stop interrupted his drive.

Like thousands of others since March 27, Bell was stopped at the Florida-Alabama state line at a checkpoint ordered by Gov. Ron DeSantis to help protect Floridians from potential coronavirus cases. A similar checkpoint was set up on Interstate 95 at Florida’s border with Georgia.

Bell was one of more than 3,700 travelers through Tuesday who entered Florida through the I-10 and I-95 checkpoints who came from areas of the country with substantial community spread of COVID-19, said Florida Department of Transportation spokeswoman Beth Frady.  

Robert Bell of Cantonment passes through a COVID-19 checkpoint at the Florida-Alabama state line after answering a few questions about his out-of-state travel on Tuesday.

Of those 3,700 travelers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Louisiana, not a single person has been told to turn around and go back the way they came.

“We go through a series of questions that we ask everyone going through the checkpoint,” said Jared Cash, who has overseen the Florida Department of Health’s operations since they began at the checkpoint. “In the past two weeks, has anyone traveled through New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Louisiana?”

Drivers and passengers alike must answer.

“If everyone says 'No,' the protocols that we've been given are to OK them to go through," Cash said.

"In the event that we do have someone that says ‘Yes,’ we ask them if they're experiencing any symptoms and if they need to be checked out by the EMTs that we have over here,” Cash said, standing in front of the weigh station and pointing to a nearby ambulance.

If travelers are not showing symptoms and if they say they simply drove through New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Louisiana without stopping or coming into contacting with residents of those states, they can proceed through the checkpoint.

If they spent a considerable amount of time in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Louisiana, then they must fill out a questionnaire indicating where they’ve been and are told to self-quarantine for the next 14 days that they are in Florida.

Cash explained that one of the more difficult tasks of the job occurs whenever Greyhound buses pull up.

“We actually had a Greyhound bus come through the other day,” he said. “I gloved up, put a mask on. I stood up in the front of the bus and made sure that everyone stayed seated in the bus,” he said, before he asked each passenger the necessary questions.

Whether a busload of people or a single rider on the back of a Harley, everyone receives the same questioning.

“They asked if I had stayed out of state or anywhere or 24 hours when I first came up,” Bell said, walking back to his motorcycle after filling out a form indicating that he had recently stayed in a state with high counts of positive COVID-19 patients.

“So, I was like ‘Yeah.’ I volunteered that I came from Louisiana. So, I guess they didn’t have to ask me that,” he said. “I stopped in the Mississippi and pumped gas. I didn't go in. I didn’t say any words to anybody. I didn’t stay there long enough but to put gas in it.”

The Florida Highway Patrol monitors the flow of traffic entering a COVID-19 checkpoint at the Florida-Alabama state line on Interstate 10 on Tuesday.

A former U.S. Navy mechanic, Bell works as a helicopter mechanic in Houma, Louisiana, fixing copters that routinely fly offshore to oil rigs and back. His work schedule requires him to spend 14 days on the job out of state, before returning to Cantonment for 14 days of rest.

Because he came from Louisiana, those 14 days must be spent in quarantine before he starts the process all over again.

The I-10 checkpoint is manned by Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Pensacola Police Department officers and Florida Department of Public of Health and DOT personnel.

Law enforcement has helped maintain order but isn't asked to interrogate travelers about criminal activity or to hand out traffic citations.

Lela Jones questions a motorist passing through a COVID-19 checkpoint at the Florida/Alabama state line on Interstate 10 on Tuesday.

Still, the long lines of hundreds of traffic cones, blinking digital signage and dozens of flashing emergency lights can be intimidating. After crossing into Florida, signs instruct drivers to reduce their speeds, and all eastbound vehicles on I-10 are funneled into two lanes of traffic partitioned by orange traffic cones.

The left-hand lane is designated for commercial vehicles and primarily occupied by 18-wheeled semitrucks transporting goods. By order of the governor, commercial motor vehicles may bypass the checkpoint to "ensure timely delivery or products across the state.”

All other vehicles form a line in the right lane and roll up a hill toward a weigh station, where they are approached by masked Florida Department of Health personnel.

The goal is to educate those people coming in from the four hardest hit states, and to encourage self-quarantining.

New York, the hardest hit state in the county, reported its highest number of coronavirus-related deaths in a single day on Wednesday, announcing that 779 people had died, bringing the death toll there to 6,268. To date, New York has recorded 150,697 cases.

New Jersey reported 746 new cases Wednesday, a decrease from daily reports in recent days, bringing the total number of cases to 17,030 and 1,504 deaths.

Officials in Louisiana reported 70 new deaths Wednesday, matching Tuesday's tally for the highest number of deaths reported in one day. The new figure brings the death toll to 652 and 17,030 cases. In Connecticut, there have been 7,781 confirmed cases and 326 deaths.

Florida on Wednesday hit 15,698 cases and 323 deaths. 

Colin Warren-Hicks can be reached at colinwarrenhicks@pnj.com or 850-435-8680.