SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – California and two other Western states have issued travel advisories that include a 14-day quarantine for those visiting the states or returning home from outside travel.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee put the advisories into action for their respective states on Friday. The announcement comes as travel is expected to ramp up for the holidays.
The advisories urge “visitors entering their states or returning home from travel outside these states to self-quarantine to slow the spread of the virus. The travel advisories urge against non-essential out-of-state travel, ask people to self-quarantine for 14 days after arriving from another state or country and encourage residents to stay local.”
CALIFORNIA TRAVEL ADVISORY ANNOUNCEMENT
In addition to the self-quarantine, the advisories recommend travelers “limit their interactions to their immediate household. The advisories define essential travel as travel for work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care and safety and security.”
Newsom said in a news release, “Travel increases the risk of spreading COVID-19, and we must all collectively increase our efforts at this time to keep the virus at bay and save lives.”
Brown added, “COVID-19 does not stop at state lines. As hospitals across the West are stretched to capacity, we must take steps to ensure travelers are not bringing this disease home with them. If you do not need to travel, you shouldn’t. This will be hard, especially with Thanksgiving around the corner. But the best way to keep your family safe is to stay close to home.”
“Limiting and reducing travel is one way to reduce the further spread of the disease. I am happy to partner with California and Oregon in this effort to help protect lives up and down the West Coast,” Inslee said.
The governors did not say how long the advisories are expected to last.