Public Health Guidance for Potential COVID-19 Exposure Associated with International Travel or Cruise Travel
CDC has separate guidance for exposures in healthcare settings and U.S. communities, and for critical infrastructure workers.
On May 1, 2020
- Revised air crews section to align with updated joint Federal Aviation Administration-CDC guidance
On March 30, 2020
- Separated guidance for international or cruise travel-associated exposures and U.S. community-related exposures.
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has spread in all regions internationally as well as in the United States. As part of a strategy aimed to limit continued introduction of COVID-19 into U.S. communities, the U.S. government has recommended that travelers stay home voluntarily for 14 days after traveling to the United States from other countries with widespread ongoing transmission or on cruise ships or river cruises.
Recommended Public Health Management
CDC’s recommendations for potential international or cruise travel-associated exposures are provided below. Individuals should always follow guidance of the state and local authorities for the area where they are located.
International1 and Cruise Travelers
Exposure
Recommended Precautions
- Travel from a country with widespread ongoing transmission2
- Travel on cruise ship or river boat
- Stay home until 14 days after arrival3 and maintain a distance of at least 6 feet (2 meters) from others
- Self-monitor for symptoms
- Check temperature twice a day
- Watch for fever4, cough, shortness of breath, and other symptoms of COVID-19
- Avoid contact with people at higher risk for severe illness
- Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop
- Travel from a country with ongoing community transmission
- Practice social distancing
- Be alert for symptoms
- Watch for fever4, cough, shortness of breath, and other symptoms of COVID-19
- Take temperature if symptoms develop
- Follow CDC guidance if symptoms develop
1For information about domestic travel see Coronavirus and Travel in the United States.
2As of March 27, 2020, this includes all countries.
3See below for guidance on air crews and here for guidance for other essential workers.
4For the purpose of this guidance, fever is defined as subjective fever (feeling feverish) or a measured temperature of 100.4oF (38oC) or higher. Note that fever may be intermittent or may not be present in some people, such as those who are elderly, immunosuppressed, or taking certain medications (e.g., NSAIDs).
Crews on Passenger or Cargo Flights
CDC and the Federal Aviation Administration have jointly provided Updated Interim Occupational Health and Safety Guidance for Air Carriers and Crews pdf icon[7 pages]external icon. This FAA-CDC guidance includes recommendations for air crews to self-monitor under the supervision of their employer’s occupational health program and to remain in their hotel rooms to the extent possible and practice social distancing while on overnight layovers. As long as crew members remain asymptomatic and have no known exposures to a person with COVID-19, they may continue to work on flights into, within, or departing from the United States. Crew members who follow their carrier’s occupational health plan as well as the FAA-CDC guidance are not subject to CDC’s recommendation to stay at home for 14 days after international travel. If they develop fever, cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19, crew members should self-isolate and be excluded from work on commercial flights until cleared to work by their employer’s occupational health program following CDC’s criteria for Discontinuation of Isolation for Persons with COVID-19 Not in Healthcare Settings.
Crew members who have known exposure to persons with COVID-19 should be excluded from work until 14 days after the last potential exposure. While air travel is a vital economic activity, CDC does not recommend allowing crew members with known exposures to continue to work, even if asymptomatic, because of the inability of crew members to remove themselves from the workplace if they develop symptoms during a flight and the challenges involved in effectively isolating a symptomatic person on board an aircraft.