IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING
TRAVEL IN WASHINGTON STATE
FOR CHILD CARE AND EARLY LEARNING PROGRAMS
With Spring Break Coming Up, several questions have arose regarding travel requirements for staff and families, including those who are fully vaccinated (i.e. more than 2 weeks out from their second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, or from the 1st dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).
If You are Planning to Travel for Spring Break
Per the Governor’s travel advisory, Washingtonians are encouraged to stay home and avoid non-essential travel. Per this advisory, for persons entering Washington State following out-of-state domestic travel, a recommended 14-day self-quarantine is still advised. In planning travel arrangements, staff, students, and families should complete their recommended 14-day quarantine before attending child care or school. This is a strong recommendation and is considered best practice at this time, but is not a strict requirement. However, employers can choose to require staff and families to follow the governor’s guidance as part of their operations plan. This quarantine following travel is still advised for vaccinated persons. All persons traveling should be tested within 7 days (preferably 3-5 days) of their return to Washington State.
The CDC currently requires all international air passengers to obtain a negative viral COVID-19 test within 3 days before they board a flight to the U.S. or to present proof of recovery from COVID-19. A 14-day self-quarantine following travel is recommended for all, and required for those returning from a country where a COVID-19 variant is currently circulating.
For other types of travel, the Governor’s travel advisory remains in place. You can find additional information here.
Ways to Look for Available Vaccines
- Information on the Snohomish County Vaccine Taskforce’s mass vaccination site is provided at http://bit.ly/snocovaccine, along with appointment registration links and which vaccine (Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer) is being administered at each site.
- The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program in Washington is receiving 72,000 doses of vaccine directly from the federal government. The pharmacies taking part in this program locally are Albertsons, Costco, Health Mart Pharmacies, Rite Aid, Kroger, and Walmart. These sites will prioritize educators, school staff, and childcare workers this month, but anyone who is eligible for vaccine can make an appointment at one of the pharmacies. For a full list of Federal Retail Pharmacy Program locations, visit Vaccine Finder. Vaccine Finder is run by the federal government.
- DOH’s Vaccine Locator webpage displays COVID-19 providers that receive allocations from the state.
- Veterans of all ages may contact the VA’s Puget Sound Health Care System at 206-716-5716 to schedule an appointment or contact their VA primary care team directly.
- People in Snohomish County over 65 years of age, without internet access, or requiring language assistance may contact the call center from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 425.339.5278 Monday through Friday.
What if I am Vaccinated?
Vaccinated persons still need to quarantine for 14 days after coming to Washington State. This includes domestic and international travel.
Travel Guidelines
The travel guidelines from Governor Inslee may be found here. The amended order (20-83.1) requires all air passengers to comply with the requirements ordered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when traveling from outside the U.S. to Washington, these requirements and more information from the CDC can be found here.
Ideas for Enjoying Spring Break Around Home
Some options for a fun spring break at home could include visiting your local zoo or aquarium, enjoying outdoor activities such as picnics and barbeques, planting a garden, having a backyard campout, making a bird feeder or bird house, or taking a driving tour of your town. Also make sure to check out www.snohd.org/activities for at-home activities, support local businesses, and explore SnoCo. Although we are staying close to home, we can still have a lot of fun. Thank you for being safe and keeping our community healthy.
Friendly Reminder
Recently we have seen a decrease in the number of cases in our county, we want to continue this trend. In order to do this, if you have a case at your child care facility you are required to report this to Snohomish Health District at (425)-252-5415 and we will provide you support and guidance on keeping your staff and children safe and healthy. Working together we will get closer to the end of the pandemic.
Snohomish Health District Child Care Health Outreach Program childcarehealth@snohd.org
425.252.5415
