Travel Advisory Asks Washingtonians To Quarantine Before Leaving

OLYMPIA, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee issued new travel advisory Friday to Washingtonians. All travelers are asked to enter a 14-day quarantine before leaving the state. The advisory also asks visitors to enter the same 14-day quarantine period before coming to Washington.

The move comes amid a massive spike in coronavirus cases in Washington and across the country. After halting the daily updates on coronavirus infections to observe Veterans Day, the state Department of Health reported Thursday a combined 3,345 new COVID-19 infections over the prior two days — an average of 1,672.5 infections each day, and a continuation of a record-breaking trend.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown have issued similar advisories, creating a unified pandemic travel advisory for the country's west coast.

"COVID-19 does not stop at state lines. As hospitals across the West are stretched to capacity, we must take steps to ensure travelers are not bringing this disease home with them," said Brown. "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."

Related: 14-Day CA Quarantine Called For Travelers, Residents

The move comes just hours after Gov. Inslee and his wife, Trudy, asked residents to consider staying home for the holidays. The travel advisory doubles down on that message — on top of the suggested 14-day quarantine, residents are asked to limit interactions to their immediate households, and avoid non-essential travel.

"Here's the facts: Our weekly average of new COVID cases has doubled just in the last two weeks," Inslee said at Thursday's address. "We are in as dangerous a position today as we were in March. We're in a period of what's called 'exponential growth' and every single day matters. We cannot wait until our hospitals' halls are lined with gurneys waiting for rooms, before we take decisive action."

The governor's travel advisory is not a legal requirement, though new pandemic lockdowns and restrictions seem increasingly likely as the transmission rate soars. The governor hinted as much during his televised address Thursday.

"In the next few days we will be announcing some further measures to prevent this from spreading," the governor said. "These decisions will affect what we do outside the home, but what's most urgent right now is what we do in our own dwellings."

Read the state's full travel advisory.