KDHE amends travel quarantine list

State of Colorado removed, specific Colorado counties added

TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has amended its travel quarantine list to remove the state of Colorado but has added more than 20 Colorado counties to the list, effective as of May 6. Those counties are listed below.

“We recognize that adding Colorado to the quarantine list presented challenges to those living in the border communities,” said Dr. Lee Norman, KDHE Secretary, said. “As such we looked at all of the Colorado counties individually and added those core counties that were 3x higher than the rate of Kansas.”

A comprehensive list of those individuals needing to quarantine includes visitors and Kansans who have:

• Traveled on or after May 6 to the Colorado counties of: Adams, Arapahoe, Archuleta, Bent, Chaffee, Conejos, Crowley, City and County of Denver, Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Huerfano, Jefferson, Lake, Larimer, Park, Phillips, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, San Juan, Teller and Weld.
• Traveled on or after May 6 to the countries of Cabo Verde, India, Maldives and Seychelles.
• Traveled on or after April 22 to Minnesota or the countries of Argentina, Bahrain, Croatia, Cyprus, Sweden and Turkey.
• Traveled on or after April 8 to Pennsylvania or the country of Uruguay.
• Traveled on or after March 26 to Delaware, Michigan or Rhode Island.
• Traveled on or after March 12 to the country of State of Palestine.
• Traveled between April 22 and May 6 to Aruba or France.
• Traveled between April 8 and May 6 to Andorra, Bermuda, Curacao, Poland or Serbia.
• Traveled between March 26 and May 6 to Hungary.
• Traveled between March 12 and May 6 to New Jersey or New York.
• Attendance at any out-of-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.

The travel quarantine period is seven days with a negative test result or 10 days without testing, with release from quarantine on Day 8 and Day 11, respectively. Further information on quarantine periods can be found on KDHE’s website.

For those traveling internationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is requiring testing within three days of flights into the U.S. For further information on this and other requirements, visit their website.

For those who are fully vaccinated (meaning it has been greater than two weeks since they completed their vaccinations) they are not required to quarantine regarding travel if they meet all of the following criteria:

• Are fully vaccinated (i.e., ≥2 weeks following receipt of the second dose in a 2- dose series, or ≥2 weeks following receipt of one dose of a single-dose vaccine)
• Are within 6 months following receipt of the last dose in the series
• Have remained asymptomatic since the travel

Persons who do not meet all three of the above criteria should continue to follow current quarantine guidance for travel.

Additionally, people with previous COVID-19 disease are not required to quarantine following travel if they meet all of the following criteria:

• Have evidence of a previous infection supported by a positive PCR or antigen test
• Are within 6 months following infection. If an investigation was done documenting the date that symptoms resolved, or the date isolation measures were discontinued for asymptomatic patients, then the 6-month period can start from that end date. If those dates are not available, then the period will start from the date of the positive laboratory test. A serology or antibody test may not be substituted for a laboratory report of a viral diagnostic test.
• Have remained asymptomatic since the travel

Persons who do not meet all three of the above criteria should continue to follow current quarantine guidance for travel.

The travel quarantine list is determined using a formula to evaluate new cases over a two-week period, then adjusted for population size to provide a case rate per 100,000 population. This provides a number that can then be compared to the rate in Kansas. Locations with significantly higher rates — approximately 3x higher — are added to the list.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit the KDHE website at www.kdhe.ks.gov/coronavirus.