Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued new coronavirus restrictions Monday for travelers coming from countries that have the new COVID-19 variant, KING 5 reports.
What’s going on?
A new strain of COVID-19 has begun to run rampant through the United Kingdom. Officials called for a massive lockdown for the area. In response, there was widespread panic about what this means for the COVID-19 vaccine.
- Experts — like Dr. Anthony Fauci — believe the virus mutation has likely made it into the United States.
New Washington restrictions
Inslee said in his new order that travelers from the UK and South Africa should quarantine for 14 days and get a COVID-19 test when they arrive, according to KING 5.
- Flight crews will be exempt from the travel restrictions.
- Inslee said more travelers will be included in the order if the new variant is found elsewhere.
Key quote:
“This is a cautionary reminder that we’re perhaps months away from being out of the worst of this pandemic, obviously,” Inslee said. “And it is a vivid reminder of the uncertainties and unpredictabilities of this pandemic.”
How to know if you have the new mutation
The new COVID-19 mutation likely has the same symptoms as the previous one, Dr. Darren Mareiniss, assistant professor for emergency medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College – Thomas Jefferson University — recently told Eat This, Not That!
- He said that “current testing does not discriminate between different strains.”