PLANNING TO TRAVEL?

• Be Sensible and Aware. When travelling, try to avoid "Hot Spot" areas with high concentrations of COVID-19 cases. If you are traveling within the United States or abroad, adhere to that specific locality’s/country’s guidelines. 
• Prior to traveling, employees may check the Harvard Global Health Institute’s COVID-19 Risk Levels Dashboard at https://globalepidemics.org/ to view the risk level by states and counties. For the purpose of this guidance, the City of Roanoke’s COVID-19 Advisory Team (“CAT”) will adhere to the Institute’s framework as the risk levels of employee travel plans are determined.  The calculation and determination risk levels will be as follows:   

-        Green (On Track for Containment) - < 1 daily new cases per 100,000 people (Monitor with viral testing and contact tracing programs) 

-        Yellow (Community Spread) – 1 to 9 daily new cases per 100,000 people (Rigorous test and trace programs advised) 

-        Orange (Accelerated Spread) – 10 – 24 daily new cases per 100,000 people (Stay-at-home orders and rigorous test and trace programs advised) 

-        Red (Tipping Point) - > 25 daily new cases per 100,000 population (Stay-at-home orders necessary) 

Note:  The dashboard displays COVID risk levels for each county in the United States, which are calculated based on daily cases per 100,000 people (with a 7 day rolling average).   

Travel Advisory Form Submittal:  

• Employees who have traveled or who plan to travel will be required to notify their supervisors and complete a “COVID-19 Travel Advisory Form” at least two (2) weeks before travel (when possible). 
• Employees may obtain the form by clicking here.
• A link to the form may also be found on the Lotus Notes homepage under “News and Announcements” – titled “COVID-19 Travel Advisory Form". (Click link here https://www.roanokeva.gov/FormCenter/COVID19-Resources-40/City-of-Roanoke-COVID19-Travel-Advisory-182.) 
• The travel advisory form will include the employee contact information, travel destination, mode of transportation, social distancing practices during the visit, and any “at risk” exposure activities. 
• Within 24 to 48 hours of submission, the form will be reviewed by an on-duty CAT member to determine if the employee’s travel plan is high risk.  CAT members will utilize the same Harvard Global Health Institute’s COVID-19 Risk Levels Dashboard as recommended in the guidance above for employees.   
• If a CAT member determines the employee’s travel to be at a high risk level (red), the employee will be contacted and informed to call the Employee Health Clinic at (540) 853-2045 to schedule an appointment for a post-travel COVID-19 assessment immediately upon his/her return home and prior to their return to work. 
• Note: Employees who travel by air or via mass transit may be given special considerations due to the risks involved with air and mass transit traveling. 
• Based on the Employee Health Clinic staff’s assessment, employees may be deemed high risk of exposure and required to self-isolate for a designated period of time before they are given authorization to return to work. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Work-related travel outside the Roanoke Valley area is suspended until further notification by the City Manager or unless deemed essential by the City Manager, Assistant City Manager’s, Council-Appointed Officers, or Constitutional Officers.