When will DC update the travel policy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids' school requires us to attest that we are in compliance with the DC travel policy, meaning we can't travel outside of the DMV unless we quarantine for 3-5 days and take a test before returning to school. We'd like to visit family over memorial day in NJ. Rates are down, vaccinations are up and there has been no change to the policy to reflect that. Any sense of when they will change to a different policy?

It’s a lot easier to just tell people what they want to hear than it is to comply with these ridiculous, erroneous policies these morons come up with.

They want to hear you say “no, I haven’t been anywhere”.

So that’s exactly what you should tell them.

Or you can actually comply with the rules, even if it's sort of inconvenient, which is what we did when we visited family out of town last weekend -- meant we had to stick our kid back into an all-remote class for two days and get some tests. Was it a pain? Yes. Was it the end of the world? No. Why do you get to decide that (a) the rules don't apply to you because you think they're dumb and (b) lying to the authorities to cover it up is okay?

When the mayor and city govt allows thousands of people to come into the city for protests and speeches (last August for the MOW anniversary, for example) without enforcing the 14-day quarantine rule that was in effect at the time, then I’m under no obligation whatsoever to comply with the same rules because I went to FL for a week.

If thousands of people get a pass to attend a protest or commemoration, then I grant myself the same pass.

You wanna be the most honest sheep in the herd? Knock yourself out. The only person impressed by your self-martyrdom is you. The rest of us laugh at you.

I do what I want. Because that’s exactly what our “leaders” do. They do what they want.

So do I.

That's a great attitude that will definitely help us all get out of this situation as quickly as possible, I'm glad you're looking out for the common good and not just doing whatever is most convenient for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids' school requires us to attest that we are in compliance with the DC travel policy, meaning we can't travel outside of the DMV unless we quarantine for 3-5 days and take a test before returning to school. We'd like to visit family over memorial day in NJ. Rates are down, vaccinations are up and there has been no change to the policy to reflect that. Any sense of when they will change to a different policy?

It’s a lot easier to just tell people what they want to hear than it is to comply with these ridiculous, erroneous policies these morons come up with.

They want to hear you say “no, I haven’t been anywhere”.

So that’s exactly what you should tell them.

Or you can actually comply with the rules, even if it's sort of inconvenient, which is what we did when we visited family out of town last weekend -- meant we had to stick our kid back into an all-remote class for two days and get some tests. Was it a pain? Yes. Was it the end of the world? No. Why do you get to decide that (a) the rules don't apply to you because you think they're dumb and (b) lying to the authorities to cover it up is okay?

When the mayor and city govt allows thousands of people to come into the city for protests and speeches (last August for the MOW anniversary, for example) without enforcing the 14-day quarantine rule that was in effect at the time, then I’m under no obligation whatsoever to comply with the same rules because I went to FL for a week.

If thousands of people get a pass to attend a protest or commemoration, then I grant myself the same pass.

You wanna be the most honest sheep in the herd? Knock yourself out. The only person impressed by your self-martyrdom is you. The rest of us laugh at you.

I do what I want. Because that’s exactly what our “leaders” do. They do what they want.

So do I.

That's a great attitude that will definitely help us all get out of this situation as quickly as possible, I'm glad you're looking out for the common good and not just doing whatever is most convenient for you.

NP here but come on. People have looked out for the common good by staying home, wearing masks, etc. But I agree that the rules can’t just apply to some cases and not others. It doesn’t matter what the cause is, thousands of people coming in from all over for a protest can cause COVID to spread. So if that’s okay, traveling to see family should be okay too.

[Anonymous]

OP, D.C. did update the guidance this weekend, but it looks like the main effect was to drop some states, not add, and New Jersey still didn't make the cut:

Per criteria outlined in Mayor Muriel Bowser's November 23, 2020 update, the following states and territories are not considered high risk as of May 2, 2021. Virginia and Maryland remain exempt.

Alabama
Arkansas
California
Guam
Hawaii
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Northern Mariana Islands
Virgin Islands

[Anonymous]

I think another issue is how often the travel policies get updated. I’d rather have a conservative approach that I can work with than have the policies change weekly to accommodate fluctuating data — that then negatively impact things that I’ve already planned.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this. Anyone have any insight about when they may change the list of high risk states? Hopefully pre Memorial Day?

[Anonymous]

Well, they have updated the travel policy, and for some reason, it's now more restrictive than it was before we had started vaccinating anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, they have updated the travel policy, and for some reason, it's now more restrictive than it was before we had started vaccinating anyone.

Where'd you see that? The Mayor's order yesterday lifted the travel restriction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they have updated the travel policy, and for some reason, it's now more restrictive than it was before we had started vaccinating anyone.

Where'd you see that? The Mayor's order yesterday lifted the travel restriction.

Is this correct? That would be amazing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, they have updated the travel policy, and for some reason, it's now more restrictive than it was before we had started vaccinating anyone.

Here it is. So incredibly frustrating.

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/coronavirus/page_content/attachments/Travel_Guidance_DCHealth_COVID-19_2021-5-17-2021.pdf

No low-risk states, applies to anywhere outside of VA or MD. And you must do a 7 day quarantine, even if you test negative.

So basically for your family vacation, you need to plan on keeping your kids home from school or daycare for an extra week after return. Or lie about traveling.

I think we know what option everyone will choose - and I have no judgment if they do.

Also note that there doesn't seem to be any quarantine requirement to VISIT DC - only to travel out of DC and come home. So all of the unvaccinated folks from high-risk areas can come here with no restrictions, but you can't drive to a beach house in DE with your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they have updated the travel policy, and for some reason, it's now more restrictive than it was before we had started vaccinating anyone.

Here it is. So incredibly frustrating.

https://coronavirus.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/coronavirus/page_content/attachments/Travel_Guidance_DCHealth_COVID-19_2021-5-17-2021.pdf

No low-risk states, applies to anywhere outside of VA or MD. And you must do a 7 day quarantine, even if you test negative.

So basically for your family vacation, you need to plan on keeping your kids home from school or daycare for an extra week after return. Or lie about traveling.

I think we know what option everyone will choose - and I have no judgment if they do.

Also note that there doesn't seem to be any quarantine requirement to VISIT DC - only to travel out of DC and come home. So all of the unvaccinated folks from high-risk areas can come here with no restrictions, but you can't drive to a beach house in DE with your kids.

Crazy

[Anonymous]

Does this really mean that children under the age of 12 cannot travel outside of the DMV without quarantining for 7 days afterwards? How is this not making the news?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does this really mean that children under the age of 12 cannot travel outside of the DMV without quarantining for 7 days afterwards? How is this not making the news?

Correct. I've heard of a few parents hitting up Council members on this, but there really needs to be a more concerted effort to push back on it and also raise this with the media.

DC is throwing the doors open for tourists to come unvaccinated with no enforcement, but won't let children ride in a car to an Airbnb outside of MD or VA.

This is such a burden on working parents too. The mayor wants every to rush, rush, rush back the office to keep downtown businesses afloat, but no parent can go back to work full-time if they have to quarantine their kid for a week after travel.

It's also ridiculous because some parts of the US have even lower COVID rates than DC. And some people booked travel back when there was a list of states that were exempt like CA - you would think with the expectation that more states would be added to the low-risk list. But instead now ANY travel plans already made are subject to this 7 day quarantine rule.

[Anonymous]

What a freaking clown show.

[Anonymous]

Bowser is a control freak. To the degree of continuous, meaningless mandates that few will follow.

Vote her out when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

Not to quibble too much but does anyone know what the difference is between the travel restrictions and the new guidance? Is that just semantics or am I right to maybe consider that the guidance is just a suggestion?