Washington Updates Quarantine Guidance Following Inslee's Order

OLYMPIA, WA — Washington updated its official quarantine guidance Tuesday and announced a new plan to test flight crews arriving from certain countries. The latest guidance matches a new proclamation from Gov. Jay Inslee that requires 14-day quarantines for passengers from the UK and South Africa, where mutated coronavirus strains appear to make the illness easier to spread.

From the Washington State Department of Health:

"Scientists have seen many genetic variations of the virus as it continues to spread throughout the world, but not all changes are significant from a public health perspective. With any new strain, public health officials are looking at whether the strain causes more serious illness or allows the virus to spread more easily. Variations in new strains could also impact the effectiveness of the tests and vaccines currently being used, but to what degree they could be impacted is currently unknown."

While the state's guidelines already recommend 14-day quarantines for all interstate and international travel, Inslee's proclamation makes it a legal requirement for travelers who have recently traveled to or from the countries in question. The governor said the order will also apply to countries where the strain is identified in the future.

Here is the updated quarantine guidance from DOH:

1. Stay in quarantine for 14 days after your last contact. This is the safest option. Monitor your symptoms during this time, and if you have any COVID-19 symptoms during the 14 days, get tested. Certain high-risk settings or groups should use the 14-day quarantine option:
   • People who have recently been in countries where the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 501Y.V, has been identified
   • People who work or stay in an acute or long-term healthcare setting,
   • People who work or stay in a correctional facility,
   • People who work or stay in a shelter or transitional housing,
   • People who live in communal housing such as dormitories, fraternities or sororities,
   • People who work in crowded work situations where physical distancing is impossible due to the nature of the work such as in a warehouse or factory,
   • People who work on fishing or seafood processing vessels.
2. If this is not possible, stay in quarantine for 10 days after your last contact, without additional testing. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms during the 10 days, stay in quarantine for the full 14 days and get tested. Keep watching for symptoms until day 14.
3. Under special circumstances, it may be possible to end quarantine after 7 full days beginning after your last contact and after receiving a negative result from a test (get tested no sooner than 48 hours before ending quarantine.) This will depend on the availability of testing resources. Keep watching for symptoms until day 14.

While the proclamation does not prevent flight crews from continuing their duties, DOH said it was developing a plan to test each member who traveled in the countries covered by the order.

Researchers are still studying the effects of the mutation and said, so far, no known cases have been identified in the United States.

"This is not the time for panic; it is the time for patience," said Dr. Umair Shah, Washington's new Secretary of Health. "Our information about this new strain is still limited, and we need to stay the course with our current efforts to control the spread of the virus while we learn more. We are tracking new developments closely and will continue to adjust our recommendations and response as needed."

The state is scheduled to host its weekly briefing on the coronavirus situation in Washington on Wednesday morning.