Harrisburg, PA - Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine today updated the travel order issued on November 17, to clarify testing and quarantine requirements for people entering the commonwealth or returning home.
“This update keeps in place the need for people visiting and returning to Pennsylvania to have a negative test or quarantine for 14 days upon arrival,” Dr. Levine said. “We still recommend that Pennsylvanians do not travel, and the stay at home advisory I issued earlier this week remains in effect. I know that it is hard not to travel during this holiday season, but it is the right thing to do to protect one another from this devastating virus.”
The amended order requires travelers over the age of 11 entering Pennsylvania from locations outside the commonwealth, as well as Pennsylvanians returning home, to provide evidence of a negative COVID-19 test or place themselves in travel quarantine for 14 days upon entering. If they receive a negative test result during the travel quarantine period, they can leave travel quarantine.
The order also clarifies that in addition to the exemptions in the previous order, people returning to the commonwealth after leaving the state for less than 24 hours and individuals complying with a court order, including child custody, are exempt from the testing and quarantine requirements.
In addition, the order clarifies the difference between a travel quarantine and isolation and quarantine when someone tests positive for COVID-19 or is exposed to a positive case. Travel quarantine means that people quarantining after travel who have not been identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive for COVID-19 are permitted to end quarantine once they receive a negative test result.
Individuals are permitted to enter the commonwealth if they are awaiting a test result but must travel quarantine until a negative test result is received, even if they are asymptomatic.
The Wolf Administration stresses the role Pennsylvanians play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
- Clean surfaces frequently.
- Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
- If you must go out, you are required to wear a mask when in a business or where it is difficult to maintain proper social distancing.
- Download the COVID Alert PA app and make your phone part of the fight. The free app can be found in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store by searching for “covid alert pa”.
Updated Coronavirus Links: Press Releases, State Lab Photos, Graphics
MEDIA CONTACT: April Hutcheson - ra-dhpressoffice@pa.gov
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