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In response to recent spikes in COVID-19 cases around the country, California joined two other western states Friday asking people to limit travel and abide by voluntary self-quarantine guidelines for the foreseeable future.
In a joint announcement, Gov. Gavin Newsom and his counterparts in Oregon and Washington issued “travel advisories” urging people traveling to their states or returning home from out of state to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“Increased cases are adding pressure on our hospital systems and threatening the lives of seniors, essential workers and vulnerable Californians,” Newsom said. “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.”
During self-quarantine, people are asked to limit interactions to members of their immediate household.
The request does not apply to people traveling across state lines for essential work, which the announcement defines as “work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.”
The governors are also asking people refrain from all recreational travel.
“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,” said Oregon Gov. Kate Brown.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said cases have doubled in his state over the past two weeks and, according to the state’s Department of Health, now has 123,356 confirmed COVID-19 infections.
California hit 991,609 confirmed cases Thursday and Oregon’s COVID-19 cases grew to 53,779.
Nationally, more than 10.5 million cases have been confirmed since January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By Bay City News Service
By Bay City News Service
By Bay City News Service