Missionaries Returning Home due to Coronavirus Concerns Told to Follow Self-Isolation Guidelines

Contributed By Sydney Walker, Church News staff writer

  • 22 March 2020

Elders Noah Deckard, Nathan Budge, and Jackson Nielsen collect baggage as hundreds of missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints return from the Philippines to Salt Lake City International Airport on Sunday, March 22, 2020. Photo by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News.

Article Highlights

  • Missionaries should self-isolate for 14 days.

As many full-time missionaries will return home in the next several weeks due to COVID-19 concerns, the Church has released the following self-isolation guidelines for missionaries and their families.

Regardless of where they traveled from or if they have already been self-isolating, all missionaries who return home will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days in accordance with guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“Parents or guardians should go to the airport alone to meet a returning missionary and practice safe social distancing while there,” according to the Church’s guidelines. “That way, the missionary is able to properly begin self-isolation.”

Missionaries are encouraged to limit contact with others, avoid leaving home for any reason, and stay in a well-ventilated room, preferably alone. If they can’t stay in a room alone, they should stay 6 feet away from others in the room.

Missionaries should also practice good hygiene, including regularly washing their hands. A missionary should contact a local health provider if he or she develops any symptoms of a respiratory illness.

“We ask families, friends, and community members to help support and encourage missionaries to follow these guidelines to help prevent any potential spread of illness and to keep missionaries and those around them safe,” the Church’s statement said.

 

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