Abbott expands travel restrictions, prohibits jail releases

At a press conference held Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that the state had doubled its hospital capacity in the past week and issued executive orders to prevent the release of prisoners and further restrict travel into Texas. Abbott expanded a previous edict that mandated quarantine for air passengers from the New York tri-state area and New Orleans. The order now includes those traveling by car from Louisiana and passengers flying from California, Louisiana, Washington state, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, and Miami. Abbott explained that the restrictions do not apply to those engaged in commercial activities, military service, emergency and health response, or performing critical infrastructure functions. He said the Texas Department of Public Safety will enforce the new travel restrictions on the ground “at and near” the Louisiana border. Abbott also prohibited the release of people in custody “for or with a history of offenses involving physical violence or the threat of physical violence,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.