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California Today
Friday: What you can do to protect yourself if you are traveling. Also: The Supreme Court sided with officials at a California jail.
By Marie Tae McDermott
Good morning. Like many other U.S. states, California currently has no travel restrictions in place. That leaves a lot of travelers wondering about what precautions they should take after returning from a trip.
The question came to us from Abel Cruz, a reader in El Paso, who asked: “If I drive to California from Texas, will I have to quarantine once I get there?”
Mr. Cruz wants to visit family members in San Diego and the Victor Valley. “I have been thinking of driving out to California but am not sure whether I should plan to quarantine once I get there, before I see family,” he said.
[Track coronavirus cases by California county.]
While California does not have restrictions in place, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged people coming to the state to act responsibly. “The key is when you do come into the state, that you abide by all the rules and regulations that our health officers have put forth,” he said during a briefing on Monday.
The question of traveling across state lines during the pandemic can be tricky, since nearly half of the country currently has restrictions in place. Hawaii, for instance, requires visitors to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival, or risk being fined $5,000 or up to a year in prison.
[See which states currently have travel restrictions in place.]
For some additional guidance, I talked to Dr. Jeanne A. Noble, an emergency medicine doctor and the director of the Covid-19 response at U.C.S.F. Medical Center’s emergency department, about how people can stay safe while traveling. Here are the takeaways from our conversation.
Arrange for testing ahead of time. Dr. Noble recommends getting a Covid-19 test a week before departing on a trip, to allow time for the results to come in. “Be extra vigilant with your social distancing and face mask use during your ‘pre-travel’ week so that you can remain confident that your negative test is meaningful,” she said.
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