State recommends quarantine for those visiting virus hotspots

144808088
The Wolf administration announced Wednesday that masks or face coverings would be required in most cases when leaving the house. It also said that large gatherings should be avoided on the holiday weekend and again reiterated the mask order.
Nathan Gutshall-Kresge/iStock Photo
Paul J. Gough
By Paul J. Gough – Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times

Pennsylvania is asking people coming from 15 states, including the Carolinas, where Covid-19 is on the increase to quarantine for 14 days after arrival in the state.

The move was announced Thursday afternoon by Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine.

The states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. People who have been in some of these states have unwittingly brought SARS-CoV-2 virus back with them to Pennsylvania, which had helped spread it here.

It is a recommendation but not a requirement, a state health department spokesman told the Business Times.

Allegheny County had, on Sunday, recommended that residents who had been in states where Covid-19 rates are high consider quarantining at home for 14 days or have two negative test results. Health Director Dr. Debra Bogen had said that Covid-19 had been seeded in the region due to travel out of state.

The Wolf administration announced Wednesday that masks or face coverings would be required in most cases when leaving the house. It also said that large gatherings should be avoided on the holiday weekend and again reiterated the mask order.

"My mask protects you and your mask protects me," Levine said in a statement Thursday. "Wearing a mask shows that you care about others, and that you are committed to protecting the lives of those around you."

Related Articles