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Florida Ends COVID-19 Checkpoint At Alabama Line

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) -- Motorists traveling from Alabama into Florida on Interstate 10 will no longer face being stopped for COVID-19 checks.

The Florida Department of Transportation announced Friday that a checkpoint east of the Florida-Alabama border is being deactivated as part of Gov. Ron DeSantis starting the second phase of a COVID-19 economic recovery plan.

A similar checkpoint on Interstate 95 north of Jacksonville remains in place.

The checkpoints were set up in late March as part of an effort to get travelers from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana to self-isolate upon arriving in Florida.

New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Louisiana were targeted because they were hotspots for the virus. At the checkpoints, motorists from the four states have been required to complete forms that include contact information and trip details.

The state has collected nearly 28,000 traveler forms at the I-10 checkpoint, the Department of Transportation said Friday.  More than 31,300 forms had been collected at the I-95 checkpoint as of Friday morning.

Cards have also been handed out with information about what people should do if they exhibit fever, cough, or shortness-of-breath symptoms attributed to COVID-19 while in isolation.

Anyone who flies into Florida from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut or Louisiana is still required to self-isolate or self-quarantine for 14 days, or for however long they will remain in the state if it's shorter, per executive orders from Gov. Ron DeSantis. Neither order applies to airline employees nor people "performing military, emergency or health responses."

(©2020 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida's contributed to this report.)

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