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Getting Tested Right After Travel Is Not The Best Option

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Health officials warned people not to travel during this holiday season, but many traveled anyway.

Now the question is - if you did travel, what should you do when you get home to keep those around you safe?

Sunday was the busiest travel day since the start of the pandemic. More than 84,000 people passed through Miami International Airport. This comes in the deadliest month of the pandemic.

"I got tested as soon as I got there. I got my results the next day. So I didn't go anywhere until I get my negative result," said Jhane Whitfield.

Whitfield and her husband spent the holidays with family. They're getting tested right away. That's what a lot of people do.

At Hard Rock Stadium they're breaking hourly records, testing more than 600 people an hour at times. But health officials warn getting a test right after you return from travel may not be your best option.

"The guidance says three to five days is the recommendation from the CDC website. You still could be an asymptotic carrier after your negative test. It may take a few days for that infection to brew and be positive on a test," said Dr. Keith Foster, Chief Medical Officer at Broward Health North.

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Dr. Foster recommends that if you travel, you isolate yourself when you get back.

"The CDC recommends those people isolate for 14 days. It's important to remember if you living in a household with a family member who didn't travel with you, that you should be wearing a mask inside that household."

Traveler Wallace Cutrell plans to isolate.

"I think I'm going to quarantine. I guess they were saying they're quarantining people in Europe for seven days. I was thinking two weeks, but I really can't afford that, so probably seven days," he said.

Dr. Foster suggests working from home for two weeks and not letting your guard down.

"If you're in the office, try to stay as isolated as you can and wear a mask as much as you can, he said.

If you do have travel plans, remember, the guidance is don't travel. If you do though the CDC has recommendations that spell out exactly what you should be doing.

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