State by State Coronavirus Related Restrictions
State by State Coronavirus-Related Restrictions
Throughout the , governors and health departments across the country have issued orders and recommendations on the status of schools, businesses and public services. With the arrival of , the closures, capacity limits and large-scale that marked earlier phases of the pandemic gave way to vaccine and testing mandates and more targeted face-covering rules, which many states extended or reinstated as the and variants spread. As those waves receded, pandemic restrictions largely subsided as well. Some states are requiring government and health care workers to get vaccinated or routinely tested. Others have resisted restrictions, barring or limiting mask and vaccine mandates and other requirements through legislation or executive action. At the national level, President Joe Biden signed an that requires and federal executive branch employees to get the vaccine. The order remains in effect for staff at health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, but the portion covering federal workers has been blocked by an appeals court pending a decision on a legal challenge to the rule. Another federal order that mandated masks on public modes of transportation, including commercial flights, and in transit hubs such as airports and bus and train stations was struck down by a federal judge April 18. The Department of Justice has appealed the ruling. There are no longer any states with general mask orders, but several still require face-covering in certain high-risk settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Private businesses and venues may require masking or proof of vaccination as a condition for entry. Here’s a look at each state’s vaccine, testing and mask requirements.
As of Sept. 23, masks are no longer required on public transit and in transportation hubs in Los Angeles County. A mask order for riders on the San Francisco Bay Area's BART rail system ended Oct. 1. The city of Oakland requires masks in libraries, senior centers and other municipal facilities, but a local face-covering requirement for large indoor events (2,500-plus attendees) ended Nov. 1. More information: Read California’s .
Mask requirements: Kemp's August 2021 order also allows bars local governments from enforcing mask mandates on private businesses without the business's consent. He signed legislation March 29 that allows parents to decide whether their children wear a mask in school, even if the local district implements a mandate. An indoor mask mandate enforced in Athens and Clarke County during periods of high COVID-19 transmission expired in full Oct. 6. More information: Check the state department of health’s .
More information: Check the state health department’s .
Mask regulations: State law prohibits local governments from ordering businesses to impose mask rules. On May 16, 2022, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Iowa school districts cannot issue mask mandates unless they’re needed to comply with other federal or state laws. More information: Check the state health department’s .
List of Coronavirus-Related Restrictions in Every State
Most states have dropped COVID-related restrictions several put limits on vaccine mandates
Chris Delmas / AFPThroughout the , governors and health departments across the country have issued orders and recommendations on the status of schools, businesses and public services. With the arrival of , the closures, capacity limits and large-scale that marked earlier phases of the pandemic gave way to vaccine and testing mandates and more targeted face-covering rules, which many states extended or reinstated as the and variants spread. As those waves receded, pandemic restrictions largely subsided as well. Some states are requiring government and health care workers to get vaccinated or routinely tested. Others have resisted restrictions, barring or limiting mask and vaccine mandates and other requirements through legislation or executive action. At the national level, President Joe Biden signed an that requires and federal executive branch employees to get the vaccine. The order remains in effect for staff at health care facilities that participate in Medicare and Medicaid, but the portion covering federal workers has been blocked by an appeals court pending a decision on a legal challenge to the rule. Another federal order that mandated masks on public modes of transportation, including commercial flights, and in transit hubs such as airports and bus and train stations was struck down by a federal judge April 18. The Department of Justice has appealed the ruling. There are no longer any states with general mask orders, but several still require face-covering in certain high-risk settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Private businesses and venues may require masking or proof of vaccination as a condition for entry. Here’s a look at each state’s vaccine, testing and mask requirements.
Alabama
Vaccine and testing regulations: State law bars local governments, schools and businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for admission or to receive goods or services and grants workers broad rights to get religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates. Gov. Kay Ivey (R) issued an order prohibiting any state executive branch agency from penalizing a business or individual for not complying with President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate. More information: Check the state public health department’s .Alaska
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) issued an order in April 2021 banning all executive branch departments from requiring anyone to provide proof of vaccination to travel to or around the state. Mask regulations: Masks are required for all employees, contractors and visitors indoors in state government buildings and other state-owned facilities. More information: Check the state’s .Arizona
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed legislation in April that prohibits state and local government entities from requiring Arizonans to get a COVID-19 vaccine, enshrining in law executive orders Ducey issued in 2021. Government-owned or -operated health care institutions are exempt. State officials also are barred from requiring COVID-19 vaccines at schools, per legislation Ducey signed in May. Mask regulations: Ducey also signed a measure in April banning mask mandates for minors. School districts and local governments are barred from requiring anyone under age 18 to wear a mask without parental consent. In May, he signed legislation barring mask mandates in buildings run by state or local government. More information: Check the state health department’s .Arkansas br
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a bill that prohibits state and local agencies from requiring proof of vaccination to travel, participate in education or receive services. Mask regulations: Hutchinson signed a bill that bans state and local mask mandates, but it was overturned by a state judge in December. More information: Check the state’s .California br
Vaccine and testing regulations: As of April 1, vaccination verification or a negative COVID-19 test is no longer required to attend indoor events with more than 1,000 people. The state Department of Public Health recommends that venues check vaccination or test status for such “mega events.” State employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or submit to regular testing. Health care workers must be vaccinated and boosted, but those with religious or medical exemptions to vaccination are no longer required to get tested. Employees in high-risk congregate settings such as jails and long-term care facilities were required to get a booster dose by March 1. A vaccine-or-test requirement for school staff was rescinded Sept. 17. On May 3, Oakland stopped requiring proof of vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, gyms and large indoor events. Proof of vaccination still is mandated at assisted living facilities and senior centers. Mask regulations: Face-covering is required statewide for people age 2 and older in health care and long-term care facilities, emergency and homeless shelters, and jails and prisons.As of Sept. 23, masks are no longer required on public transit and in transportation hubs in Los Angeles County. A mask order for riders on the San Francisco Bay Area's BART rail system ended Oct. 1. The city of Oakland requires masks in libraries, senior centers and other municipal facilities, but a local face-covering requirement for large indoor events (2,500-plus attendees) ended Nov. 1. More information: Read California’s .
Colorado
Vaccine and testing regulations: The state Board of Public Health ended a vaccine requirement for health care workers July 14, but the change only applies to staff at facilities that do not participate in Medicare and Medicaid. State employees who interact with vulnerable populations, such as corrections and health department staff, must be vaccinated. Other state workers must be either fully vaccinated or receive COVID-19 tests twice per week. Mask regulations: Masks are required for staff and visitors at long-term care facilities and for all people over age 11 in health care facilities in areas with high or substantial COVID-19 transmission levels. More Information: Check the state’s department of health .Connecticut
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Ned Lamont (D) mandated COVID-19 vaccines for state employees and staff at schools and childcare facilities. Certain employees may be eligible to forgo the vaccine and opt for weekly testing. In some circumstances, individuals with a medical condition or sincerely held religious beliefs may be exempt. A similar mandate applies to long-term care employees. On Jan. 6, Lamont signed an order that requires state hospital employees and workers at long-term care facilities to get a COVID-19 . Mask regulations: Face-covering is required for people age 2 and older in health care facilities, long-term care facilities and shelters. More information: Read Connecticut’s .What to Say When A Household Member Won t Get Vaccinated
Delaware
Vaccine and testing regulations: State government workers and staff at health care and long-term care facilities must be fully vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The same restrictions apply for employees and volunteers in K-12 schools. Mask regulations: A mask mandate for K-12 schools and childcare facilities ended March 31. Face-covering is still required in hospitals, long-term care facilities and state government buildings. More information: Read Delaware’s .District of Columbia br
Vaccine and testing regulations: District government employees, contractors and interns must be fully vaccinated and get a booster shot when eligible. Health care workers and employees and volunteers in K-12 schools also must meet vaccination requirements. Individuals may be exempted from the vaccine mandates because of religious beliefs or medical conditions. Mask regulations: Face-covering is required in health care facilities; group residential settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, shelters and prisons; and in D.C. government buildings where employees interact directly with the public. More information: Read the District of Columbia’s latest .Florida
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) issued an executive order in April 2021 barring businesses from requiring “vaccine passports” for entry. The prohibition has been codified into state law. Another set of state laws adopted in November bars vaccine mandates for state government workers and requires private companies that mandate staff vaccination to allow a wide range of exemptions for unvaccinated workers. Mask regulations: DeSantis signed orders in May 2021 prohibiting local governments and school districts from mandating masks. State law vests parents with authority to choose whether their children wear a mask in schools. More information: Read about Florida’s .Georgia
Vaccine and testing requirements: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed an order in August 2021 that prohibits local governments from mandating COVID-19 restrictions such as vaccination requirements for private businesses. A state law in effect through at least June 30, 2023, bars government entities from requiring vaccination as a condition for employment or receiving public services.Mask requirements: Kemp's August 2021 order also allows bars local governments from enforcing mask mandates on private businesses without the business's consent. He signed legislation March 29 that allows parents to decide whether their children wear a mask in school, even if the local district implements a mandate. An indoor mask mandate enforced in Athens and Clarke County during periods of high COVID-19 transmission expired in full Oct. 6. More information: Check the state department of health’s .
Hawaii
Vaccine and testing regulations: Democratic Gov. David Ige’s order that state employees show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing was lifted March 25, as were all vaccine, testing and quarantine requirements for travel to Hawaii. Mask regulations: Hawaii’s statewide mask mandate, the last in the country, expired March 25. More information: Check the state’s for updates.Idaho
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Brad Little (R) signed an order banning state entities from requiring people to show a vaccine passport to receive services or to enter buildings, but he vetoed legislation that would have barred most private businesses from imposing vaccine mandates on employees for one year, calling it “government overreach.” More information: Check the state’s for more information.Illinois
Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that unvaccinated staff at health care and long-term care facilities get tested weekly for COVID-19 was lifted by Gov. J.P. Pritzker (D) Oct. 17. The order does not cover employees at health care facilities certified by Medicaid or Medicare, who remain under the federal vaccine mandate. Employees at state-run congregate facilities such as veterans homes and detention centers must still undergo weekly testing if they are not vaccinated. Mask regulations: Face-covering is no longer required in health care and long-term care facilities, per Pritzker's Oct. 17 order. Masks are recommend at facilities in areas of high community spread.More information: Check the state health department’s .
Indiana
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed a bill banning state and local governments from requiring vaccine passports. More information: Check the state’s .Iowa
Vaccine and testing regulations: A state law enacted last year expands employees’ rights to claim religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation in June barring public and private schools, colleges and universities, and childcare centers from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for attendance.Mask regulations: State law prohibits local governments from ordering businesses to impose mask rules. On May 16, 2022, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Iowa school districts cannot issue mask mandates unless they’re needed to comply with other federal or state laws. More information: Check the state health department’s .