Below is up-to-date information on coronavirus and safety for visitors to San Diego.
San Diego is happy (and we know it!) to welcome you back. With our temperate weather and beautiful surroundings, San Diego offers near-endless options for great outdoor events year-round. Couple that with the region's high vaccination rates and you have the perfect place to meet in safety, comfort and natural splendor, San Diego-style. Read on for more!
San Diego's hotels, restaurants, museums, attractions and most other businesses are open without capacity restrictions or social distancing requirements. (For full details, please visit the California Department of Public Health's website.) Individual businesses may continue to enforce mask wearing while customers are on-site, and we ask that visitors abide by their guidelines. San Diego International Airport continues to comply with TSA guidance on masking and at this time, TSA's mask mandate is not in effect. Masks are still required while on public transportation.
As of April 1, the state Department of Public Health has lifted the requirements for vaccine verification or proof of negative tests among attendees at "indoor mega events," defined as those with more than 1,000 people. The state has left in place a "strong recommendation" to follow those measures. The health department says the shift "acknowledges that while case rates and hospitalizations are declining statewide from their peak during the Omicron surge, indoor mega events continue to involve several factors that increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19."
The San Diego Convention Center has updated its masking protocols to align with county, state, and federal public health guidance. Face masks/coverings are highly recommended — but not required — for all center staff. If clients request masking for staff members and/or attendees, the center will ask all staff and partners to wear masks in the licensed space and common areas during the run of the event.
Under federal Centers for Disease Control requirements, all air passengers 2 or older traveling into the United States from a foreign country must provide a negative COVID-19 test to the airline before boarding the flight, regardless of vaccination status. Passengers who are fully vaccinated must provide a negative test no more than three days before the flight's departure, in addition to showing proof of vaccination. Passengers eligible to travel (U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents or others who fall under the limited exemptions) and are 2 or older but not fully vaccinated must provide a negative test no more than one day before the flight's departure. Those who recently recovered from COVID-19 may travel with documentation of recovery and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or public health official indicating the patient is cleared for travel. For more information on these requirements, visit the CDC International Travel site.
The federal Department of Homeland Security requires non-U.S. individuals seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide related proof of vaccination. These restrictions apply to non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons. They do not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals.
Non-U.S. individuals traveling to the United States via land ports of entry or ferry terminals, whether for essential or non-essential reasons, must:
COVID-19 testing is not required for entry via a land port of entry or ferry terminal.
Although these vaccination requirements do not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals, all travelers are reminded to bring a WHTI-compliant document when re-entering the United States.
To help reduce wait times, travelers can take advantage of facial biometrics and CBP One™, which is a single portal for CBP mobile applications and services. For the most up-to-date information on border wait times, visitors can check with Customs and Border Protection or call 619-690-8999.
For more information, please visit the Department of Homeland Security's website.
For more information on accepted COVID-19 vaccines and acceptable proof of vaccination, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
Mexico does not require COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to enter their country. For more information, visit the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico website.
We look forward to welcoming you back to San Diego so you can create incredible memories — safely.
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