Travel ban lifted in El Dorado County but Lake Tahoe tourism still prohibited
Officials lifted El Dorado County's nonessential travel ban this week but emphasized that a state order still prohibits tourism to Lake Tahoe.
"Because the state ban on nonessential travel supersedes the county’s, there is no material change in what people should do in regard to visiting Lake Tahoe,” public health officer Dr. Nancy Williams said in a prepared statement released Wednesday. “I cannot emphasize this enough: People should not come to Lake Tahoe unless they have an essential purpose for doing so.”
The county's announcement said the order was rescinded because of "sufficient testing and contact tracing capacity along with the ability to monitor COVID-19 indicators by a team of public health and hospital officials."
The county imposed the ban on April 3 to help curb the spread of COVID-19. The rule was in addition to a statewide mandate asking the public to stay home. The county order allowed law enforcement to fine violators $1,000. Exceptions were made for travel by homeowners to their second home.
“The governor's stay-at-home order is still in place and clearly requires that residents refrain from travel for nonessential purposes. I regret having to discourage visitors, but traveling outside of one’s home community is still proving to be a major factor in the spread of COVID-19," Williams said.
"A visit to one of our county’s and state’s most popular destinations for the purpose of a vacation, hiking, boating, enjoying a meal at your favorite Tahoe restaurant, or change of scenery is still prohibited, whether or not there is a county-specific restriction in place."
