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State-By-State Guide To Quarantining After Thanksgiving Travel
Most Thanksgiving travelers will need to quarantine.
If you traveled out of state for Thanksgiving, there’s a pretty good chance that your state recommends or requires you to quarantine upon returning home.
That means staying at home, without going anywhere or seeing anyone from outside your household, for 14 days. The purpose is that, if you became infected over the holidays, you do not infect anyone else.
Notably, the states where Covid-19 is spreading the fastest are the least likely to have a quarantine order or a mask mandate in place.
Here are the states that ask returning residents to quarantine after travel:
Alaska: Returning residents must go to the Alaska Travel Portal and fill out a traveler declaration about where they’ve been in the previous two weeks. If you’ve been out of state for more than three days, you have a choice: quarantine for two weeks or take a free Covid-19 test upon your return.
California: A state travel advisory urges a 14-day quarantine after returning to California. If you spent the holiday in-state but had prolonged exposure to people outside of your household or existing pandemic pod, you should also self-quarantine.
Los Angeles residents returning from another state via Los Angeles International Airport, Van Nuys Airport and Union Station have to fill out the online form upon arrival acknowledging the 14-day quarantine.
Connecticut: If you are returning from any of the 46 states with a Covid-19 infection rate “higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average,” you must self-quarantine for two weeks. Three states — New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island — are exempt.
District of Columbia: If you’ve traveled to one of the high-risk states, you should limit activities for 14 days or get tested for Covid-19. There is an exception for travel from neighboring Virginia and Maryland.
Hawaii: Per the state’s Safe Travels program, you need proof of a negative Covid-19 test before flying back to Hawaii. That can be a paper certificate or you can upload it online. If you arrive without a negative test, you must quarantine for 14 days or the duration of their trip, whichever is shorter.
Illinois: While there are no statewide quarantine orders, residents who traveled out of state are urged to “stay home if possible after returning and monitor your health for 14 days in order to protect the health and safety of yourself, as well as others.”
Note that there is a two-week quarantine mandate for Chicago residents returning from one of the many states it considers high-risk. If you’re returning from one of the 11 Midwest states on the “red list,” you must quarantine even if you have proof of a negative Covid-19 test. If you visited a state on the “orange list,” a pre-arrival negative test can let you avoid quarantine.
Kansas: This hot-spot state’s quarantine page has no mention of Thanksgiving travel. You are asked quarantine for two weeks if you have “attended/traveled to mass gathering events out-of-state of 500 people or greater where individuals do not socially distance (6 feet) and wear masks.”
Maine: If you traveled out of state, you can either get a negative Covid-19 test or go into 14-day quarantine upon return to Maine. You are exempt from both requirements if you traveled to New Hampshire or Vermont.
Maryland: Any Marylander returning from out-of-state should either get tested for Covid-19 promptly upon arrival in Maryland or within 72 hours before travel to Maryland. Any Marylander who traveled to one of the 30 states with a Covid-19 test positivity rate above 10% should get tested and self-quarantine at home until the test result is received. The District of Columbia and Virginia are exempt.
Massachusetts: Residents returning home from any of the 48 high-risk states are required to self-quarantine for two weeks or show a negative result from a Covid-19 test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.
New Hampshire: You must self-quarantine for 14 days if you traveled outside of the New England states of Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. If you are asymptomatic and have a negative PCR test on or after day 7 of quarantining, you may shorten or end your quarantine.
New Jersey: If you left the state for Thanksgiving, you need to quarantine for 14 days. There is an exemption for immediate neighbors New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
New Mexico: Residents returning from any state but Hawaii are required to self-quarantine for two weeks.
New York: If you traveled to any of 48 “high risk” states, you must quarantine for 14 days or comply with the “test out” option”: Upon return to New York, you must quarantine for three days and get tested on day 4. If the result comes back negative, you may exit quarantine early.
Ohio: You must quarantine for 14 days if you traveled to any of the 16 states reporting positive Covid-19 testing rates of 15% or higher. “Remain at home and avoid all in-person activities. This includes work, grocery stores and pharmacies, public events, and public places.”
Oregon: A state travel advisory recommends a two-week quarantine for residents returning from out of state. Oregon is in a “two-week freeze,” through this Wednesday, December 2, with tighter restrictions on gatherings and for restaurants, gyms, stores and other establishments.
Pennsylvania: If you traveled out of state, you are required to get a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours of returning to Pennsylvania, or you must quarantine for two weeks. You must continue to quarantine until you receive a negative test result.
Rhode Island: Residents returning to Rhode Island from any of the 42 “high risk” states must self-quarantine for two weeks or provide proof of a negative test for Covid-19 taken within 72 hours prior to your return in Rhode Island. You may shorten your quarantine by testing negative upon your return but must quarantine while waiting for test results.
Vermont: The state has a mandatory quarantine for residents returning to Vermont. Asymptomatic residents can shorten their quarantine with a negative PCR test on or after day 7 of quarantine.
Washington: A state travel advisory recommends a two-week quarantine for residents returning from out of state.
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