Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich on Friday released updated Returning Traveler Guidance, which reiterates the recommendation to limit non-essential travel in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The guidance also focuses on the level of risk associated with an individual’s destination and activities while traveling. Most notably, the guidance points to the fact that most other counties in the state are experiencing higher rates of COVID-19, and that such information is available through the Blueprint for a Safer Economy webpage for assessing travel-related risks.
“Movement of individuals between households and geographic areas is still a significant driver of disease transmission,” Dr. Frankovich wrote. “This is particularly true for Humboldt County residents because many areas of the state and country are experiencing more COVID-19 activity than Humboldt. Travel is likely to increase one’s risk of exposure, compared to remaining close to home.
“What has become clear over time is that the level of risk associated with travel is dependent both on where you travel and, even more importantly, your activities while traveling.”
Dr. Frankovich added, “If you stay with friends and family, it is very difficult to avoid close household interaction, so this increases travel risk. If you attend family or other social gatherings or events, your risk increases. Cruises, concerts and large venue events where individuals from many different places are in close proximity and sharing facilities, substantially increases risk.”
The full guidelines and returning traveler FAQs are available online.
The returning traveler FAQs are also available in Spanish online.
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard,
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Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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