By WIBW TV's Melissa Brunner
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - You might want to hold off on a trip to Louisiana or that next out-of-town large conference.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment updated its travel quarantine list Friday to include the state of Louisiana, and in-state mass gatherings of 500 or more people that do not practice social distancing and wearing masks.
Out-of-state mass gatherings - such as last Saturday’s Garth Brooks concert at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. - already were on the list.
KDHE also removed the countries of countries of Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Jersey, and The United Kingdom. The changes are effective Aug. 13.
“Given the increased transmission of the Delta variant across the state, we now consider attendance at mass gatherings in state to be high risk situations,” KDHE Secretary Dr. Lee Norman said. “The virus does not know the boundaries of our state and we must all must take steps to protect those close to us by staying home after attending any large events.”
People who are fully vaccinated, or who can show proof of a positive COVID-19 test within the previous six months do not need to quarantine, so long as they do not experience symptoms. KDHE says others must quarantine for seven days with a negative test result or 10 days without testing,quarantine. Further information on quarantine periods can be found on KDHE’s website.
Here is the updated travel quarantine list from KDHE:
- Traveled on or after Aug. 13 to Louisiana.
- Traveled on or after July 29 to Isle of Man or Martinique.
- Traveled on or after July 15 to Fiji.
- Traveled between July 29 – Aug. 13 to Botswana, Cuba or Gibraltar.
- Traveled between July 15 – Aug. 13 to British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Jersey or The United Kingdom.
- Attendance at any out-of-state or in-state mass gatherings of 500 or more where individuals do not socially distance (6 feet) and wear a mask.
- Been on a cruise ship or river cruise on or after March 15, 2020.
KDHE says it uses a formula to determine the travel quarantine list, which considers the two-week rate of new cases per 100,000 population. Locations with rates approximately three-times higher than Kansas are added to the list.