As positive cases of the coronavirus continue to mount, Pennsylvania has added another duty to help mitigate the spread by using law enforcement to get useful information out to drivers.
"Pennsylvania State Police are some of the most visible frontline workers in Pennsylvania. We interact with the public every day, and this is one more way we can help provide some of that very important public safety messaging," said Ryan Tarkowski, state police communications director.
Troopers are now armed with flyers that give people easy access to Pennsylvania's COVID-19 guidelines.
"It has QR codes on there for people to scan on their smart devices or the short links they can type in to go to the Pennsylvania Department of Health's website with the most up-to-date information."
Now that the holidays are over, there may not be as many people on the roads. State police still want to make sure that those coming in from out of town know Pennsylvania's restrictions.
"This is very much an educational outreach effort and not as much of an enforcement effort. It's important for people to know that enforcement is possible," Tarkowski said.
State police are not checking every single driver for proof of a negative case or vaccine card. They are using their judgment on a case-by-case basis. If it's warranted, a citation could be given on top of whatever violations you were stopped for.
"There is enforcement possible. It's a summary offense, like a traffic citation, but to my knowledge, no citations have been issued by the Pennsylvania State Police regarding folks not quarantining per the order."
The governor's travel restrictions are still asking anyone traveling into Pennsylvania to have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travel out of state or quarantining for 14 days.