COVID-19 Updates: Vaccination, Forecasting Model, Screening for Businesses & Organizations

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Travel Guidelines

Staying Safe

For more information about how to travel safely, consult with the CDC guidance on holiday travel.

CDC Guidelines
A woman wearing a face mask at an airport

UTSW-Related Domestic Travel

Approval Is Needed

Domestic university-related travel is allowed with approval.

  • Department head will need to approve in writing that an individual’s travel is supported and that there are safety measures equivalent to on campus in place.
  • Travel requests will be reviewed to verify the documentation was submitted.

Essential Travel for Recruitment and Visiting Faculty

UT Southwestern allows travel associated with mission-critical faculty and staff recruitments and visiting faculty with approval.

For essential faculty and staff recruitments, all interviews must be conducted virtually until the final candidate pool is identified.

All visitors and finalist candidates considered essential must receive documented approval by the Chair/Center Director/VP and then the appropriate Executive Vice President or their designee prior to the coordination of the individual’s travel.

Please complete the Essential Visitor Host Department Checklist.

  • The host department will receive an email with instructions on next steps for both the essential visitor and the host department.
  • The completed form will be routed to Occupational Health so the team is able to monitor clearance.
  • Occupational Health will contact visitors who do not pass clearance.
Prior to Travel to Campus 
  • Departments must communicate to the candidate or visitor the current UTSW COVID-19 safety protocols.
  • After discussions with the visitor or candidate, departments should coordinate travel arrangements based on candidate/visitor individual preferences and UT Southwestern requirements (e.g. rental car, car service, or rideshare programs).
  • When preparing itineraries, visitors or candidates may choose to forgo typical external dinners.
  • If requested, the individual would be provided a letter by the requesting department noting they are traveling related to an essential business/service.
  • Prior to travel, visitors or candidates must contact Occupational Health at 214-645-5300 48-72 hours in advance of arriving on campus to be cleared. This process will allow for approval based on previous travel history, current location, potential exposure risks, and current health symptoms.
Travel to/from Campus  
  • When arriving to or departing from Dallas, visitors or candidates may choose to travel via available rideshare programs, individual rental cars, or department procured pick-up accommodations.
  • Visitors or candidates must practice current face masking requirements while in transit if unable to maintain safe distancing while traveling to the campus or hotel.
While on Campus 
  • All visitors, candidates, and UTSW staff or faculty must follow current face masking and safe distancing requirements while on campus.
After Departing our Campus 
  • The candidate/visitor must alert the host department if they become sick with COVID-19-related symptoms or confirmed positive within 14 days after departing campus.
  • The department would immediately alert Occupational Health and provide Occupational Health the itinerary for follow up.

All departments must continue to adhere to established UT Southwestern expense guidelines.

Staying Safe While Traveling

Additional Resources

  • Domestic air travel will be permitted for trips more than 3 hours by automobile, otherwise private automobile travel is preferred.
  • Face masks should be worn at all times during domestic travel, including time in airports, on airplanes, in taxis, or Uber/Lyfts. Mass public transportation, such as buses and subways, should be avoided.
  • Gloves and using sanitizing wipes are encouraged.
  • Consuming food other than that brought by the traveler on an airplane is discouraged.

Personal Travel

Personal travel will not be reviewed by the Travel Oversight Committee; however, you are encouraged to take the same precautions and safety measures during travel as you are asked to follow locally in DFW. Exposure to COVID positive individuals during travel for personal reasons may affect your ability to return to campus and to your regular professional or educational activities.

Instances that May Require Quarantine Upon Return to DFW

(Last updated May 27, 2021)

All Overnight cruises (domestic or international)

International Locations

  • All of South America
  • Costa Rica
  • India
  • Nepal
  • Bangladesh
  • Malaysia
  • Mongolia
  • Kuwait
  • UAE
  • Bahrain
  • Iran
  • Georgia
  • Sweden
  • Slovenia
  • Netherlands
  • Belgium
  • France
  • Denmark
  • Belarus
  • Lithuania
  • Latvia
  • Estonia

Report All Travel

All domestic or international travel must be reported using Occupational Health’s screening form. Occupational Health will then determine whether you may return to work or need to quarantine following your travel.

Return from International and Domestic Travel

Travel to international or domestic hotspots hotspot may require a 7 or 10-day quarantine depending on specific high-risk activities, such as using public transportation (taxi, Uber, subway), visiting a health care facility, or being in a large gathering. Additionally, employees must comply with any federal or state restrictions related to testing or quarantine requirements following travel to specific locations.

  • If you take a COVID-19 test on day 7 and it is negative, then you can self-monitor for the remaining 7 days.
  • If you choose not to test, please quarantines for 10 days and self-monitor for the remaining 4.

If You Have Immune Protection

For those who have immune protection from either a prior COVID-19 infection or full COVID-19 vaccination, international and domestic travel will no longer require quarantine if you remain asymptomatic while being offered COVID-19 testing. However, this travel still must be reported to Occupational Health to determine if you qualify.

This list of “hotspot” domestic and international travel locations is determined by a group of UTSW ID, occupational health, and infection prevention and control experts based on available public data related to COVID-19 case numbers and trends from multiple publicly available sources. This list will be updated approximately every 2 weeks.

Returning to Campus Following Travel

All domestic and international travel to a COVID-19 hotspot and overnight cruises must be reported prior to returning to campus to one of the following:

The list of domestic and international COVID-19 hotspots is based on UTSW Infectious Diseases and Infection Control experts’ review of publicly reported data on COVID-19 cases, trends, and testing from various sources. This list of hotspots will be updated approximately every 2 weeks.