FlyingEgghead

I know people are saying the LAX rules are a joke, but bear with me -- I want to do the right thing. If I'm flying into LAX from within California, the quarantine requirement doesn't apply to me (not that it's enforced anyway). In fact, the wording here and here says that I'm not even required to complete the Traveler Form itself:
Question: Regarding possible enforcement of the Traveler Form at LAX, is it true that I should complete the form to be safe even though I'm not actually required to? What checks are (or could be) happening at the LAX terminal exits? Is there any possible harm in completing the form when it doesn't apply to me?

I doubt they can readily distinguish between intrastate and interstate passengers. What evidence are they looking for to let you through (if/when they do have a checkpoint set up)? Would they accept evidence of flying only within CA in lieu of the Traveler Form, and what would that evidence be? (Showing a boarding pass doesn't prove you didn't take other flights you're not showing.)

The bottom line seems to be: If I intend to comply at all, the easiest thing is to over-comply by completing the form for any arrival at LAX, and just recognize in my own mind that I don't actually have any quarantine requirement when flying intrastate.

downinit

Good news from LA County, vaccinated travelers no longer need to quarantine upon arrival. Non-vaccinated travelers can test out at day 7, which is a very minor improvement. I know most people didn't care, regardless, but my employer is definitely very strictly following county guidelines. As it happens, I now have need to take bereavement leave and travel out of state, which would have meant that my employer would force me to take 10 days off to quarantine upon returning if not for this change.

chrisl137

The form has no dates of travel on it nor any recording of flight/train/bus numbers that you used to get into LA. There's also no verification by anyone that you filled it out before they let you loose through the airport. I filled it out the first time when it came up, and quarantined as well - I live in LA County and am on indefnite WFH so quarantining for 10 days at home was a very minor inconvenience at the height of the peak here. Given the infection rates at the time, I would have gone shopping at most once anyway. I filled it out again on some later trip, too, but since it's not tied to any trip, I consider myself having satisfied the requirements. It's also an LA City form, not county, and I'm out of LA City within 30 minutes of getting off the plane if I land in LAX. If you land at LGB, BUR, ONT, or SNA and aren't entering LA City, you can skip the form.

So the right thing to do is fill out the form if you're going into City of LA (it's not intrusive privacy-wise - it's not like they can't easily tell you were here and doesn't ask for your mother's maiden name, SSN, password, or bank account numbers) and don't worry about it beyond that. You can fill it out days in advance even. You don't have to print it, and I couldn't tell if it went anywhere besides /dev/null - I don't think there was even an email acknowledgement. Without coming up with a movie-plot disaster story, I can't come up with any scenario where filling it out when you don't need to would cause you any trouble.

GloballyServiced

This is funny I traveled to LA 2 weeks ago and didn’t even know about these rules. Went out wining and dining immediately. What a joke.

michael1023

I still don’t know why I have to quarantine in ny state after international travel, but the cdc website says I don’t have to. I don’t understand why ny state is behind on this....

Duke787

Any recent experiences with Maine? We are headed there in a couple of weeks for our first real trip since COVID started (but before May 1 when they shift to a less restrictive policy). We'll have received both doses of Pfizer but be a few days short of a full 14 days from shot #2. The Maine visitor form does specifically call out the 14 day past vaccination date on their form and our connection is LGA so we won't be arriving from an exempt state.

I assume this means we'll need to get a rapid test done at CVS/Walgreens a day or two before we leave and be exempt from quarantine under that item?

Don't want to skirt the rules but also don't want to go get a test done if it's not really required. We are staying at the AC Portland so I assume they will collect this since the regulations basically say they expect local lodging establishments to verify this info.

https://cdn.elebase.io/dbcc75a2-4b9f...ble-030421.pdf

vanillabean

For law enforcement or purely healthwise?

Duke787

I'm assuming the AC will ask for the form (but maybe I'm wrong) and if I indicate that we've been vaccinated (which we will have been but not for 14 full days) will they ask to see the card? If we say we've received a negative test will they ask for the test?

We haven't traveled since COVID except in NC and nothing down here has ever been enforced (and there was never any paper trail you had to leave either) so just trying to determine what level of scrutiny and if we need to get a PCR done before we leave or if no one is bothering to check these forms in Maine anymore in which case it's probably not worth bothering with getting the test before we travel.

vanillabean

It’s tricky. I know someone who had her first Moderna shot. It later turned out the local vaccination center, a big provider called Kaiser, was closed on the scheduled date for her second shot and suggested to have it on one of the two preceding days. Now we see Iceland stating "COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna; Moderna Biotech Spain S.L.; 2 doses at least 28 days apart.” So will Iceland let her in?

https://www.landlaeknir.is/um-embaet...-at-the-border

Duke787

Yeah it'll be interesting. In our case we actually are getting #2 today (unless CVS is closed for some reason) so getting it 21 days apart won't be an issue, but we just won't be the full 14 days when we arrive in Maine (we'll be at 10)

TomMM

My second Pfizer shot is scheduled for 21 days after the first but I was told I could get the second +-4 days from the scheduled date.
Definitely will wait until day 21.

catocony

If a hotel desk clerk asked to see my medical records I would walk out, probably after laughing for at least a minute.

Except for maybe Hawaii, the quarantine restrictions in the bulk of the US are not enforced at all. Maybe they'll ask for a form, maybe not, but there's zero chance they're going to demand any proof to any of it. Put down that you're vaccinated and leave it at that.

pallas

This news article seems to imply that the national guard at New York airports are no longer collecting forms, that the program went to April 1st. Any real world reports in New York (any airport) recently?

https://www.army.mil/article/245012/...from_travelers

IKDR

Sorry - I know this has been covered a lot, but I'm just trying to get it straight in my mind!
I'm UK based but US/UK dual citizen so can fly into the States, once I'm allowed to travel outside the UK (we're all barred from non essential travel till 17th May).
OH has annual leave end of May and we'd like to come out and finally visit friends/family and we're thinking of visiting the ones in Phoenix. Easiest/cheapest way for us to get out (we have some airline privilieges) is to fly into LAX and drive down - normally we either spend a night in Palm Springs or San Diego to make it a fun drive.
I'm aware that there is state quarantine in California. I can't work out if that's MANDATORY or ADVISORY. Yes we're leaving the state, but if we stayed overnight in either city on the way down, we WOULDN'T be leaving the state.
We'll only have had our first jab (there's a 12 week gap between jabs in the UK), and I don't want to be breaking US laws?

chrisl137

Here's a link to the latest update of the California travel advisory as of April 2. It seems to have been relaxed from must quarantine to should quarantine, so you're probably ok. The LA county one is here, and still says must quarantine for LA County.

(edit to fix link ref)