Police checkpoints are being set up along the Louisiana border in a move to further cut off travel from a neighboring state that has been among the hardest hit by the new coronavirus.

The checkpoints are along all major arteries into Texas, according to an advisory Sunday from the Louisiana state police.

“The screenings are related to the COVID-19 pandemic and motorists are urged to exercise caution and remain alert for traffic congestion when traveling west into Texas,” the advisory said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety did not issue a public advisory, though House Speaker Dennis Bonnen tweeted Sunday that troopers would be gathering forms from travelers about their destination.

“It’s important for those entering TX from LA to be prepared to stop,” Bonnen said.

The new screening comes a week after Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order requiring all travelers from Louisiana to self-quarantine for 14 days. The department of safety said then that it would increase patrols but would not create checkpoints.

Commercial, military and emergency travel, as well as health workers entering the state to help with the pandemic, are exempted.

A sheriff’s department along the border said in a Facebook post that they had been informed of a “total closure” by 8 a.m. Sunday, except for essential travel.

Traffic along Interstate 10 at the border was relatively light. Troopers allowed 18-wheelers to stay on the highway, while passenger vehicles were detoured toward the Texas Travel Information Center. The checkpoint appeared to delay travelers for less than five minutes.

DPS had approximately a dozen vehicles at the Interstate 10 location. All of the officers were wearing personal protective equipment.

Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick said all six county judges in the Southeast Texas Regional Operations Center supported the screening.

“They are letting 18-wheelers through,” he said. “If you have someone that is working in Alabama, but coming back home to Texas, I think they will let them come in.”

On Sunday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said the state could run out of ventilators by the end of the week. Louisiana had 13,010 confirmed cases and 477 deaths from COVID-19 as of Sunday afternoon, according to the Louisiana Department of Public Health.

“I’m very concerned,” Branick said about people coming into the county from Louisiana. “I’m concerned that having had Mardi Gras, which attracted so many people, was not a good move for the state of Louisiana.”

The county judge said he suggested that Southeast Texas refineries, which have essential workers who travel back and forth to Louisiana, stay in Texas. He said he had not heard back from the refineries as of Sunday afternoon.

The Texas DPS said in the news release that, although the department does not “discuss specifics related to its operational plans regarding enforcement, we want the public to be prepared for increased patrols and additional law enforcement presence along the Texas/Louisiana border as we work to enforce the governor’s executive order.”

The department said drivers should be prepared to stop and fill out forms that require travelers’ names, vehicle information, driver license number, home address, phone number and location at which the traveler will be quarantined.