Utah welcome sign
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
Brian Cohen·
2019 Novel Coronavirus
··2 Comments·14 min read

Visitors Required to Complete Declaration When Traveling to This State

As an effort to stay aware of people who might be at risk for spreading the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, visitors who travel to this one state by motor vehicle or airplane are required to complete an electronic declaration form of health symptoms and recent travel history effective as of Friday, April 10, 2020; and it will remain active until Friday, May 1, 2020 at 11:59 in the evening Mountain Daylight Time.

Visitors Required to Complete Declaration When Traveling to This State

a poster of a travel agency
Source: The official Internet web site of the state of Utah.

The executive order was issued by Gary Herbert, who is the current governor of Utah; and the system has been deployed using a targeted wireless emergency alert on certain highways which cross state borders into Utah — including:

  1. Interstate 15 at the Arizona border
  2. United States Highway 89 north of Kanab
  3. United States Highways 491 and 191 at Monticello
  4. Interstate 70 at the Colorado border
  5. United States Highway 40 at the Colorado border
  6. Interstate 80 at the Wyoming border
  7. Interstate 15 at the Idaho border
  8. Interstate 84 at the Idaho border
  9. Interstate 80 at the Nevada border
a blue sign with white text
Source: The official Internet web site of the state of Utah.

Motorists entering Utah near state borders will receive an alert which will direct them to fill out a health declaration or form.

In addition to people who travel by motor vehicle, passengers arriving at Salt Lake City International Airport will also be directed to complete the same survey before they leave the airport.

“These are extraordinary times, and Utah is taking extraordinary measures like using this technology (which we have never used in an instance like this before). There may be some kinks here and there, but it’s absolutely essential to help us stop the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19”, according to this article which was posted at the official Internet web site of the state of Utah. “The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is collecting the data and will securely transfer that data to the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) for their awareness. Remember, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is deadly. The data submitted through this program helps in our efforts to trace and mitigate the disease. We are able to inform travelers about public orders in Utah, and we are able to isolate incidents and notify anyone who may be affected.”

What Information is Required on the State of Utah Travel Declaration Form?

Utah welcome sign
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.

At the top of the electronic travel declaration form is the following paragraph:

Each person 18 years of age and older entering Utah must submit an electronic State of Utah Travel Declaration Form within three hours of entry, as ordered by the Governor. This declaration serves to inform individuals of Utah’s current COVID-19 related restrictions and declare information that will be used by the Utah Department of Health to help track and trace COVID-19 infections that may arise from persons who enter the state of Utah from national or international travel.

Additionally, most of the following information is required when you complete the electronic travel declaration form:

  • Entry location
  • Full name
  • Date of birth
  • Have you, or anyone in your party been tested for COVID-19 in the last 14 days?
  • Are you, or anyone in your party currently experiencing any of the following symptoms: Cough, Shortness of breath, or Fever?
  • Are you a Utah resident, visitor, or worker?
  • Complete home address — including country of residence — telephone number, e-mail address, and preferred method of contacting you
  • List up to four cities, states, and countries which you have visited during the 14 days prior to entering Utah
  • Are there additional people in your group?
  • Current date and time
  • Accepting an authorization that by submitting, you verify that the information you provided on the electronic travel document is true and correct.

What Happens If the Electronic Declaration is Not Completed?

Utah welcome sign
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.

You will not be stopped for failing to fill out the declaration form if you are a motorist. The executive order from the governor expects that people who receive the alert will be good public health citizens to help Utah slow the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, as this measure is simply a process to gather data; and no legal enforcement of the alert is currently required.

Furthermore, the technology is admittedly not perfect:

  • Sometimes people who are miles away may receive the alert.
  • People who receive the alert and have not recently crossed the border into Utah do not need to fill out the declaration form.
  • Inbound and outbound traffic cannot be separated — meaning that motorists who are leaving the state will also receive the wireless emergency alert.

Other States With Restrictions For Visitors

Other states with total or partial travel quarantine or isolation orders — at the time this article was written — include:

  • Alaska — All travelers arriving by airplane are required to go directly from the airport to a location where they can quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Arizona — Travelers arriving “from an area with substantial community spread, including but not limited to the New York Tri-State area” are required to isolate themselves for 14 days.
  • Delaware — All travelers arriving from out of state are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Florida — Travelers arriving from the greater New York City metropolitan area or Louisiana are required to isolate themselves for 14 days.
  • Hawaii — All travelers entering the state by airplane are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Kansas — All travelers arriving from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, or Washington state must quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Kentucky — Visitors who arrive from out of the state are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Maine — All arriving visitors are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Massachusetts — Travelers entering the state are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Nevada — Visitors who arrive from out of the state are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • North Dakota — Visitors who arrive from out of the state are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Oklahoma — Travelers arriving from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, Louisiana, or Washington state are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Rhode Island — Visitors who arrive from out of the state are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • South Carolina — Travelers arriving from “virus hotspots,” including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and New Orleans are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Hotel properties, resort properties, and other lodging facilities in South Carolina are prohibited from accepting reservations from travelers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
  • Texas — Travelers driving across the state line from Louisiana are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Air travelers arriving from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, California, and Washington state are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • Vermont — All incoming travelers are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
  • West Virginia — Travelers arriving from “virus hotspots” — including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Louisiana — are required to quarantine themselves for 14 days.

Other Articles From The Gate Pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic

This article is the latest in a series pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus — which is also known as COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV or SARS-CoV-2 — pandemic in an effort to get the facts out with information derived from reliable sources…

…as well as attempt to maintain a reasoned and sensible ongoing discussion towards how to resolve this pandemic.

Other articles at The Gate which pertain to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus include:

Summary

Utah welcome sign
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.

I realize that the measures which have been put into place around the world — let alone the United States — are purportedly designed to slow the spread of the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic in order to save as many lives as possible…

See also

…but some of those measures — including the aforementioned one by Utah — seem to smack of the erosion of civil liberties to which citizens of the United States had become accustomed as part of their rights of which countless military personnel had fought hard to earn and defend over the past almost 250 years. I am concerned that the electronic declaration may do more harm than good.

So what is next? Mandatory curfews for everyone but the privileged few? Armed military at state borders stopping every person who crosses them and checking their papers? People who should be shot on sight for merely opening their doors at the risk of violating orders to quarantine themselves in their own homes?

If any of the above sounds ludicrous, might I suggest that perhaps some of the measures which are already in place also seem that way — to the point of draconian.

Fortunately, many of the measures which are currently in effect are supposed to be temporary; but I would not be the least bit surprised if at least some of them become permanent — you know — to do everything we can, as long as we stay safe, as has happened after the attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

All photographs ©2017 by Brian Cohen.

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