Travel Planner Instructions for Health Departments

The COVID-19 Travel Planner is a centralized communication platform that travelers can search to find COVID-19 information for the state, local, territorial, and tribal communities they’re passing through and for their destinations. This information will help travelers make informed decisions, protect themselves, and reduce transmission before, during and after they travel.

As a health department, you can use the Travel Planner to reach travelers and share your COVID-19 policies relevant to travelers entering and departing your jurisdiction. Once you are registered with CDC’s Secure Access Management Services (SAMS) and the Travel Planner portal, inputting your health department’s information should take less than 15 minutes.

How can we add our jurisdiction’s information?

Identify a few people who can be responsible for inputting your health department’s COVID-19 information, such as a communication specialist, administrative assistant, intern, or other staff member. If these staff members don’t already have a SAMS account, they should email [email protected] to request enrollment in SAMS and access to the COVID-19 Travel Planner webform. If they already have a SAMS account, they will need to email [email protected] to request access to the COVID-19 Travel Planner webform.

Once they have access, they can follow this job aid pdf icon[PDF – 963 KB] to input your jurisdiction’s information.

What questions will we be asked to answer on the web form?

On your jurisdiction’s Travel Planner administration page, you will find a webform that you can use to provide answers to the following questions about your jurisdiction’s COVID-19-related mandates and policies:

1. Will travelers be required to self-quarantine or be quarantined under legal order? If so, for how long?
2. Do travelers need to submit contact information or any other information to the health department before they travel? If so, how do they do that?
3. Are there any testing requirements for travelers? If so, how do they provide their results?
4. Is there a mask mandate? If so, what is it?
5. Are there limits on gathering size? If so, what do travelers need to know?
6. Are any destinations or businesses closed to travelers? (e.g., beaches, restaurants, bars)
7. Who should travelers contact if they have any COVID-19 symptoms?

For each question, you can add a link to an additional resource, such as your health department page. You will also have the option to add links to other relevant health departments’ guidance pages. All responses are optional. Questions that are left blank will not appear on the website. You will be able to edit responses in the webform as needed when your jurisdiction’s mandates and policies change.

May we promote the Travel Planner on our website or social media channels?

Yes, absolutely!

To the right is a graphic, along with some example social media posts below for your channels:

Facebook

• Debating whether to travel? Before you go, check the CDC Travel Planner for COVID-19-related guidance for your destination and the communities on your way. bit.ly/CDCtravelplannerexternal icon
• If you travel, check the CDC Travel Planner for COVID-19-related guidance for your destination. bit.ly/CDCtravelplannerexternal icon
• Planning to travel? Check the CDC Travel Planner for COVID-19-related guidance for your destination. bit.ly/CDCtravelplannerexternal icon

Twitter

• Considering a trip? Check #TravelPlanner for #COVID19 guidance for your destination before booking. bit.ly/CDCtravelplannerexternal icon
• If you travel, check CDC’s #TravelPlanner for #COVID19 guidance for your destination and along your route. bit.ly/CDCtravelplannerexternal icon

Website Badge

• To promote the Travel Planner on your website, use the graphic to the right as a badge on your website linked to the Travel Planner: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-planner/index.html.