Reinstatement of 14 day quarantine or travel restriction, unlikely

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. (KIEM)-A spike in global COVID-19 cases have county health officials concerned over those who travel in-and-out of the area.

According to Humboldt County Deputy Health Officer Dr. Josh Ennis the possibility of reinstating the 14 day quarantine or imposing other travel restriction is unlikely.

“I see it difficult to reinstate a quarantine on anyone who leaves the county because so many people do it via air, via ground and it’s extremely difficult to enforce,” said Ennis.  “I won’t say that there is no possibility at all. We’re trying to put the focus on the activities that place you at increased risk rather than travel per say.”

Ennis says they are trying to hone in on how much risk is involved related to activities done when someone travels outside the county….prompting the health department to make a move towards putting the focus on high risk activities.

Such as not social distancing, not wearing a mask or face covering, not practicing good hygiene with frequent hand washing, for example, will put you in a higher risk of contracting disease more so than just  leaving the county. 

“What became clear to us was that it was getting more and more difficult to determine how much risk was associated with a particular destination and it seemed that disease was spreading pretty much everywhere domestically and internationally,” he said. “So in this kind of harm-reduction sense we are acknowledging that it’s going to occur anyway.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic more cases in the area have been from those traveling out of the county, which according to county health officials, is continuing to be imported.

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