Californians are urged to stay close to home – and residents of other states to stay out – under a new travel advice issued in hopes of curbing the furious spread of the coronavirus.
Under the updated guidance of the California Department of Public Health, issued Wednesday, Californians are being told to avoid traveling anywhere in the state that is more than 20 miles from their homes unless it is necessary.
Travelers from other states or states are also “strongly discouraged” from coming to California, except for essential purposes.
The state defines essential journeys as’ related to the operation, maintenance or use of critical infrastructure or otherwise required or expressly authorized by law … including work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care and safety and security. ”
Non-important travel, on the other hand, is for recreational or tourist purposes.
“Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” the advisory board said.
The latest recommendations replace those issued in mid-November and are aimed at halting the spread of the coronavirus, which remains rampant nationwide, and especially in California.
Cumulative coronavirus infections reached 2.5 million on Wednesday and the number of new cases increased by more than 1 million in less than a month.
Someone coming to California from another state or state, officials warn, runs the risk of bringing the virus, or even newer variants, with it.
Government officials emphasize that anyone visiting or returning to California from abroad must provide their own quarantine for ten days after arrival, except “if necessary to meet the urgent needs of health care personnel or to perform emergencies,” or if they ‘regularly cross state or national borders for essential travel,’ according to the adviser.
Some counties in California, including Los Angeles, have also imposed their own mandatory quarantines on long-distance travelers in an effort to slow the spread.
Health officials are already waiting to determine the full outcome of holiday trips and events – activities they have long feared could cause another increase in the coronavirus as California continues to add tens of thousands of new cases every day and hospitals across the country compete record levels of COVID-19 patients.
According to LA County resident Barbara Ferrer, residents should keep in mind that the community’s distribution rates are so high that you expose yourself to the risk of leaving your home.
“It’s better to be lonely than to be sick,” she said earlier this week. “It’s better to look after others by following all the rules than to eventually pass the virus on to someone who is hospitalized or even dies.”