San Francisco has lifted a 10-day quarantine order for residents who've traveled outside of the Bay Area, city health officials said Tuesday.
The local health order was instituted in December as the city and the state were experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. But the region as well as the state have seen a significant drop in new infections.
Although the local quarantine order has been lifted, health officials are continuing to urge residents to avoid non-essential travel outside the Bay Area and out of state. Residents who do so are still being advised to quarantine for 10 days.
"Lifting this order does not mean that it's now safe to just hop on a plane or go on a road trip," said Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco's acting health officer, in a statement. "This is not a travel free-for-all. We've made tremendous progress and brought our case numbers down, but we need to keep our guards up. The growing prevalence of variants, some of which were brought from abroad, is further proof that we must be extra cautious. If we do everything we are supposed to — wear our masks, practice physical distancing, avoid indoor gatherings with other households — we can continue to reopen businesses, schools and community activities. Voluntarily quarantining after traveling out of state or 120 miles from home helps protect everyone."
Travel, especially in shared vehicles like airplanes, buses and trains, can increase the risk of getting and spreading COVID-19.
"If there’s an alternative to travel and you can go to Wine Country or you can go somewhere closer to get that travel bug out of you, it’s still a decent time. California has tons of places to go visit," said UCSF infectious disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
—Bay City News and Arooba Kazmi