Vermont will soon allow visitors to bypass its mandatory quarantine if they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Travelers to Vermont will not be required to quarantine two weeks after receiving their second dose of the vaccine, Gov. Phil Scott announced last week. The policy goes into effect on Tuesday and applies to both residents and visitors to the state.
"I want to be very clear: We're going to do this carefully and methodically like we have throughout the pandemic, and I'm asking for your patience as we work our way through this process," Gov. Scott said, a local NBC affiliate reported.
Inoculated travelers must still obey all other COVID-19 precautions, including masking when in public and obeying social distancing rules, as they still may be carrying the virus.
The policy change comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a decision that fully vaccinated Americans who have completed a two-week immunity waiting period are not required to quarantine if exposed to the virus. Although they should still monitor themselves for potential COVID-19 symptoms.
The state had one of the most stringent travel policies in the country, requiring most visitors to quarantine for at least a week upon arrival. Travelers could end their quarantine after seven days after receiving negative COVID-19 test results.
Vermont has reported a total of 14,250 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 197 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to the state Health Department. The seven-day rolling average of cases in the state has not increased over the past two weeks.
All out-of-state travelers to Vermont are encouraged to enroll in the state's Sara Alert system upon arrival to receive daily reminders to check for COVID-19 symptoms for two weeks.
The CDC still recommends double masking or wearing a tightly fitted face mask at this time.
Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure, currently based in Brooklyn. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or at caileyrizzo.com.
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