El Paso Travelers Urged To Test for COVID-19 After Thanksgiving Break

The City of El Paso is urging all El Pasoans who traveled during the Thanksgiving break to get tested and self-quarantine after returning home.

Health officials in El Paso are advising residents who traveled or gathered with members outside their immediate families over the Thanksgiving holiday to get a COVID-19 test and self-quarantine until they receive their negative results.

According to CDC guidelines, traveling may increase the chance of getting and spreading COVID-19, yet many people still traveled and gathered during the holiday break. Now, city officials are asking that recent travelers and companions (including children) get tested and quarantine to avoid spreading COVID-19 to other family members and the community.

Over the last couple of months, El Paso has seen an upsurge in cases and deaths that members of the Texas National Guard were mobilized to the city to help with the morgue crisis. Although today the number of cases has slowed down, city health officials are bracing for another spike due to the recent holiday weekend.

City health officials ask that the public continue to observe safety guidelines such as maintaining social distance and to wear a face covering, and get tested for COVID-19 if they recently traveled out of state.

Testing:

• Several free testing sites are open throughout the community.
• For all COVID-19 testing site locations and prevention practices, visit EPStrong.org.