On Dec. 21, Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation requiring all people who travel to Washington state from these countries, which include the United Kingdom and South Africa, to quarantine for 14 days after arriving. The proclamation follows a travel advisory the governor issued last month recommending a 14-day quarantine for all interstate and international travel.
Additionally, people who enter Washington after travel to the U.K. or South Africa should get tested if they develop symptoms. If no symptoms develop, they should get tested five to seven days after leaving the U.K. or South Africa.
Scientists have seen many genetic variations of the virus as it continues to spread throughout the world, but not all changes are significant from a public health perspective. With any new strain, public health officials are looking at whether the strain causes more serious illness or allows the virus to spread more easily. Variations in new strains could also impact the effectiveness of the tests and vaccines currently being used, but to what degree they could be impacted is currently unknown.
U.K. health officials say the new strain may spread more easily, but they are not seeing more serious illness or an impact on vaccine effectiveness at this time.
“This is not the time for panic; it is the time for patience. Our information about this new strain is still limited, and we need to stay the course with our current efforts to control the spread of the virus while we learn more,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, secretary of health at DOH. “We are tracking new developments closely and will continue to adjust our recommendations and response as needed.”
Plans for testing flight crews arriving from impacted countries are still in development. DOH will provide more info as it becomes available.
Current quarantine guidance includes these options:
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