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Traveling for the holidays? States where Tennesseans will have to test negative or quarantine

With the holidays quickly approaching and COVID-19 cases rising , many states are taking extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus from visitors to residents. 

Tennessee is considered a "high-risk" state to travel from in most parts of the country, so Tennesseans will have to review travel restrictions before seeing relatives for the holidays.

Knox News has compiled a state-by-state guide to make safe traveling easier this season. Here are the state travel restrictions as of Nov. 23 in alphabetical order.

The strictest states

These states require proof of testing, mandatory quarantine, completion of health department forms or some combination of all three. Visitors can face fines in some states if they do not adhere to travel restrictions. 

Everyone visiting who is older than 10 must upload proof of a negative molecular-based SARS-CoV-2 test, a type of diagnostic test that detects the virus’s genetic material, to an online travel portal . Antibody tests do not qualify. Non-residents also are required to submit a travel declaration and self-isolation plan to the portal. Printed proof of a negative test taken no more than 72 hours prior to travel, a completed travel declaration and self-isolation are acceptable. 

If travelers tested within 72 hours before departure and are awaiting their results, they can enter Alaska and quarantine until negative results are uploaded. The state requests travelers take a second test five to 14 days after arriving in Alaska.

Visitors arriving without a previously taken test can get one for $250 and must self-quarantine while awaiting results, which may take three to five days or more. Testing is free for Alaska residents, who also have the option of a two-week quarantine instead of a test. Travelers pay their own quarantine costs.

Connecticut

People coming from Tennessee must self-quarantine for 14 days and fill out a mandatory health form if they plan to stay for more than 24 hours. Travelers can skip or shorten a quarantine period by providing proof of a negative PCR, or nasal swab, test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

Visitors can take a test after arriving, but they must stay in isolation until written proof of negative results is sent to the Commissioner of Public Health by email at [email protected] or by fax at 860-326-0529.

These restrictions apply to anyone who has spent at least 24 hours in a high-risk area in the two weeks before their visit. Failure to comply with the order carries a fine of up to $500 per violation.

District of Columbia

Anyone visiting for more than 24 hours from a high-risk area, including Tennessee, must test negative for coronavirus no more than 72 hours before their arrival. People staying in D.C. for more than three days have to test again three to five days after arriving. A mask mandate is in effect for most activities and places. 

People visiting Hawaii for the holidays can avoid a mandatory 14-day quarantine by providing proof of a negative Nucleic Acid Amplification test, a type of diagnostic test, taken within 72 hours of the final leg of their trip. Travelers also have to pass temperature screening at the airport and fill out a travel and health declaration form.

Those whose test results are pending must quarantine for 14 days or until they obtain a negative result; whichever is shorter.

On top of a pre-travel test, some Hawaiian counties require travelers age 5 and older to test again after arrival. 

Hawaii County is randomly selecting about 25% of travelers for a free second test at the airport. Chosen visitors must stay at the airport while awaiting results, which usually take about 30 minutes. Maui and Kaua’i counties are asking travelers to take a voluntary second test 72 hours after arrival. The test is free in Maui County. In Kaua’i County, it is free for residents, but there is a $150 charge for visitors, which is offset by a gift certificate for the test cost. The certificate is valid at certain restaurants and attractions. There are additional restrictions for travel between counties. 

People violating state quarantine requirements face up to a $5,000 fine and up to a year in prison.

There are no statewide restrictions in Illinois, but under emergency travel order, Chicago has implemented a color-coded system to decide if visitors need to obtain negative coronavirus results or quarantine. Red, orange and yellow indicate virus levels in other states compared to the situation in Chicago. 

Tennessee is marked orange, meaning residents from the state are asked to stay home. If they visit, they can either quarantine for 14 days or show proof of a negative virus test no more than 72 hours before their arrival. 

All travelers must quarantine for 14 days or sign a document acknowledging they tested negative after taking a PCR (diagnostic) test or antigen (nasal swab) test with the last 72 hours. Those in quarantine can only leave the place they are staying for limited outdoor activities like hiking, when no one else is around.

The only exemption to testing is for those who are under the age of 18 and are traveling with adults who have recently tested negative for the virus. 

Massachusetts

Anyone older than 10 must quarantine for 14 days or provide proof of a negative molecular PCR test taken within the past 72 hours. Those awaiting test results must quarantine until a negative result is received. All adults over the age of 18 or minors traveling alone who enter Massachusetts must fill out a travel form.

Those who do not follow the rules face fines of up to $500 per day.

New York is allowing travelers to "test out" of its mandatory two-week quarantine with a series of tests and a shorter period of isolation.

People who have been out of the state for 24 hours or more must show a negative test result taken in the three days before their arrival. Then, they must quarantine for the first three days in New York. Another coronavirus test must be taken on the fourth day, and if it is negative, the person may leave quarantine. Those not wanting to take the tests must still quarantine for 14 days per Health Department regulations.

Visitors must fill out a  Health Department traveler form . Visitors can be fined up to $10,000 for non-compliance. 

Pennsylvania

People traveling to Pennsylvania will have to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before entering the state, or they must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

The state's mask mandate is in effect for most people and places, even if you're outside and physically distanced from others. 

Those who fail to comply with the travel restrictions could be fined up to $300.

Rhode Island

Tennesseans can choose to provide negative results from a test taken with the previous 72 hours or quarantine for two weeks. People who receive negative results during their quarantine can stop isolating, but the state recommends a full 14-day quarantine.

Visitors also must complete a certificate of compliance and an out-of-state travel screening form when they arrive in the state.

Visitors must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Those without any coronavirus symptoms may get a PCR test on or after the seventh day of their quarantine. If the result is negative, they are free to stop quarantining. 

Those traveling to Vermont in a personal or rental car or on a private plane can complete Vermont’s requirements in their home state and, assuming they limit stops on their way, enter Vermont without having to quarantine again. 

States taking caution against COVID-19

These states are asking visitors to be careful but do not have certain requirements and do not charge visitors fines. 

California is urging visitors to quarantine for 14 days. The state recommends travelers call ahead to learn about local restrictions that also might be in place.

Kansas requires everyone to quarantine for two weeks if they have attended an out-of-state gathering of 500 or more people where individuals did not wear masks and physically distance by six feet of if they were on a cruise ship or river cruise after March 15. 

Kentucky recommends a 14-day quarantine for those who have recently visited these states: Alabama, Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Visitors are asked to get a virus test in the 72 hours before arriving in Maryland or upon arrival.

Minnesota recommends travelers quarantine for 14 days when entering the state.

New Hampshire

Tennesseans should quarantine for two weeks.

People visiting New Jersey for more than 24 hours are asked to quarantine for 14 days, even if they recently tested negative. Travelers who have spent more than 24 hours in other areas are also asked to complete an online survey  providing details about where they have been and where they plan to stay.

All travelers, except those from Hawaii, must quarantine for 14 days.

Oregon is urging visitors to quarantine for 14 days. 

South Carolina

South Carolina recommends people who have traveled in the past two weeks to stay home as much as possible and watch for symptoms. 

Virginia is asking people who have traveled to areas of widespread coronavirus transmission or who participated in higher-risk activities like going to larger gatherings including sporting events, crowded restaurants, weddings or funerals or traveled on a cruise ship or river boat to take “extra precautions” to protect others for 14 days after arriving in the state. 

Washington is urging visitors to quarantine for 14 days. 

States where Tennesseans are free to travel

These states do not have statewide travel restrictions for Tennesseans as of Nov. 23. 

• Mississippi 
• North Carolina
• North Dakota 
• South Dakota
• West Virginia 

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2021 Tennessee Code Title 7 - Consolidated Governments and Local Governmental Functions and Entities Chapter 86 - Emergency Communications Part 1 - Emergency Communications District Law § 7-86-125. Comprehensive Travel Regulations for District Officers and Employees

• The board of directors of each district shall adopt comprehensive travel regulations applicable to all officers and employees of the district. The minimum regulations shall be the same as those of the appropriate county or municipality that created the district. Nothing in this subsection (a) shall prohibit a district from adopting a more stringent policy. However, the district may establish a mileage allowance for travel up to, but not in excess of, the business standard mileage rate established by the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.).
• If the appropriate county or municipality does not have comprehensive travel regulations as described in subsection (a), the board shall adopt travel regulations. Such regulations shall determine how expenses will be reimbursed and what expenses are reimbursable. A copy of such travel regulations shall be open for public inspection and kept on file in the district office.

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• Per Diem Lookup

FY 2022 Per Diem Rates for Tennessee

Daily lodging rates (excluding taxes) | october 2021 - september 2022.

Cities not appearing below may be located within a county for which rates are listed. To determine the county a destination is located in, visit the Census Geocoder .

Meals & Incidentals (M&IE) rates and breakdown Footnotes

Use this table to find the following information for federal employee travel:

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, incidentals - Separate amounts for meals and incidentals. M&IE Total = Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner + Incidentals. Sometimes meal amounts must be deducted from trip voucher. See More Information

First & last day of travel - amount received on the first and last day of travel and equals 75% of total M&IE.

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Primary Destination

Traveler reimbursement is based on the location of the work activities and not the accommodations, unless lodging is not available at the work activity, then the agency may authorize the rate where lodging is obtained.

Unless otherwise specified, the per diem locality is defined as "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city, including independent entities located within those boundaries."

Per diem localities with county definitions shall include "all locations within, or entirely surrounded by, the corporate limits of the key city as well as the boundaries of the listed counties, including independent entities located within the boundaries of the key city and the listed counties (unless otherwise listed separately)."

When a military installation or Government-related facility (whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and/or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

Meals & Incidentals

The separate amounts for breakfast, lunch and dinner listed in the chart are provided should you need to deduct any of those meals from your trip voucher. For example, if your trip includes meals that are already paid for by the government (such as through a registration fee for a conference), you will need to deduct those meals from your voucher. Refer to Section 301-11.18 of the Federal Travel Regulation for specific guidance on deducting these amounts from your per diem reimbursement claims for meals furnished to you by the government. Other organizations may have different rules that apply for their employees; please check with your organization for more assistance.

First & Last Day of Travel

This column lists the amount federal employees receive for the first and last calendar day of travel. The first and last calendar day of travel is calculated at 75 percent.

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Rates for Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. Territories and Possessions are set by the Department of Defense .

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The End Date of your trip can not occur before the Start Date.

When a military installation or Government - related facility(whether or not specifically named) is located partially within more than one city or county boundary, the applicable per diem rate for the entire installation or facility is the higher of the rates which apply to the cities and / or counties, even though part(s) of such activities may be located outside the defined per diem locality.

Concerns over free speech grow as abortion travel ban heads to Tennessee governor's desk

Some free speech advocates are raising the alarm over wording in a new Tennessee bill that could potentially restrict a person's right to speak about abortion health care.

The law, passed by Tennessee lawmakers this year, makes it a felony to recruit or transport a minor for an illegal abortion without parental consent.

HB1895 , which will soon head to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk, closely mirrors a recent law passed in Idaho, which a federal judge halted on First Amendment grounds. 

The legislation targets an adult who "recruits, harbors or transports" a pregnant minor within the state for the purposes of receiving an illegal abortion, defined by Tennessee's near-total abortion ban, or for getting abortion medication without notarized consent from the minor’s parents.

Free speech concerns from opponents of the bill are heavily centered on the word “recruit,” which is not defined in Tennessee state law, and which they say could potentially criminalize speaking to a pregnant minor about health care options.

“This bill raises concerning First Amendment issues, as the term recruits is not defined in the bill or anywhere in the Tennessee code,” said Bryan Davidson, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee.

“The free expression implications are troubling. It's easy to imagine that there could be a reproductive health clinic or a clinician, non-medical counselor or a social worker, anybody who provides information or options around abortion care and counseling to pregnant minors in Tennessee, who could potentially have their free speech rights infringed upon.”

James Bopp Jr., the general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee, which helped draft model legislation on the issue, called the First Amendment concerns unfounded.

“There's no confusion about that,” he said in an interview, adding that “nobody thinks” that the word “recruit” could include “just posting information” or speaking about abortion.

Travel-ban law is slippery slope part of larger pattern, say opponents

The concern over the limitation on free speech rights under the bill is not new. In Idaho in late 2023, lawmakers passed a nearly identical law to Tennessee’s version.

The law was quickly temporarily paused by a federal judge after three plaintiffs — a lawyer and two medical advocacy groups — sued Idaho alleging the law’s language is overly vague and violates their First Amendment right to discuss abortion with minors and their Fourth Amendment right to travel between states where the procedure is legal.

Sen. Paul Rose, R-Lauderdale, and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, sponsors of the legislation, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the bill.

Standing on the sidewalk in downtown Broadway on April 10, Behn, along with members of Abortion Care Tennessee, held a large sign aloft emblazoned with bright purple letters reading “Need an abortion? We’re here to help.”

She later described the law as “dystopian.”

“I believe that this is a test case for what is deemed constitutionally protected in an increasingly polarized kind of authoritarian environment we're seeing nationally," she said.

According to Behn, when asked about the definition of the word recruit, Zachary suggested looking the word up in a dictionary.

“Zachary was asked by my colleagues as to how he would define the word recruit,” she said. “And he generically pointed to a dictionary and said, ‘As it is in the dictionary.’ Which, you know, any dictionary, any definition is pretty broad as to what remains. And when you're dealing with a civil liability of up to a million dollars and jail time, it seems to be pretty important to know what the word recruit means.”

Behn said the concern was echoed by multiple medical professionals who spoke against the bill.

“We had a few practicing pediatricians and obstetricians comment that even them talking to minors in a grocery store might be illegal,” she said. “They weren't clear, for example, if they had a neighborhood minor that came up to them and said, ‘I'm pregnant, we're having issues,’ and whether they, as a trusted adult, would be protected under the law.”

Behn said the bill highlights how Tennessee is “on the front lines of the most extreme, post-Roe, anti-abortion legislation,” with some of the strictest abortion laws in the country.

“I think this is a test case, and it's trying to penetrate the parameters of what is protected by the First Amendment,” she said. “And I think this case will go to the Supreme Court and inevitably, whatever government is in charge at the time, will prevent free speech from happening.”

On the House floor, moments before the bill was approved, Behn attempted to pass a number of amendments to it, including one that sought to protect discussions of health care options by “trusted adults” — which included a number of health care workers, abortion clinic staff or volunteers, attorneys and more — from being held criminally liable, as long as they were not “forcing the minor” to obtain an abortion.

The amendments failed.

Davidson of the ACLU said his organization is “watching the bill,” with special attention on the key differences in Tennessee’s bill that, in his view, make it more vague than Idaho’s.

“There is a key difference in our version of the bill versus the one that was (paused) in Idaho is that the Idaho statute requires concealment from the minor’s parent or guardian as an element overall,” he said. “Whereas the Tennessee statute does not require concealment. So the criminal offense in our version applies to a much broader array of activity, and I think contributes to an even more concerning sense of vagueness.”

Davidson said this broader level of vagueness is what concerns the legal experts at the ACLU.

“They're so vaguely written that it's unclear how the law would be applied and enforced,” he said. “But what we see is that just the threat of enforcement is enough to stoke fear and confusion and leads to self-censorship that has the ultimate effect of limiting access to vital reproductive health care to folks that need it most.”

Anti-abortion advocate dismisses free speech concerns

Both the Tennessee law and the Idaho law are based on model legislation written by the National Right to Life Committee — the nation’s largest anti-abortion organization that lobbies legislatures to end abortion access.  

Bopp developed the model legislation these bills are based on and said concerns over vagueness in the bill’s language — particularly the word “recruit” — are unfounded.

When asked why a key word in his bill did not need defining, Bopp reiterated that concerns over a lack of definition were “a complete lie.”

“That's complete bulls***,” he said. “There are all sorts of words that are used in statutes that are not defined. So that's just complete bulls***. If their argument is there's not a definition in state law, then you look to the common dictionary definition. … The Supreme Court, most of the time, is looking at dictionaries to determine the meaning of words that are in statutes and have never struck down a statute based on vagueness, because a word was not defined in a statute.”

Upon inspecting court records, there have been numerous major U.S. Supreme Court cases that ruled certain laws as being “unconstitutionally vague” due to words not being defined, and references to the importance of clarity in laws dating back as far as James Madison’s Federalist Papers.

When asked how he defined the word “recruit,” written in his own model legislation for the travel ban, Bopp read the definition of the word from vocabulary.com and gave an example of what he considered illegal recruitment — an example that included speech activity.

“You can see in the vocabulary.com that it says ‘to recruit’ means ‘to get someone to join something,’ and the something here is to participate in an unlawful abortion,” he said. “You know, to go on campus and say, ‘Hey, come on with us. We will take you to in our car to go get an unlawful abortion.’”

Bopp said he did not think the word needed clarifying in bills emulating his legislation, which can be seen working their way through legislatures in numerous states.

“’Recruit’ is more specific than just providing information,” he said. “The common definition of recruit is quite adequate.”

Bopp said opponents are “just making (concerns) up because they're abortion advocates and trying to use the First Amendment as a weapon.”

William Brewer, head legal counsel and lobbyist for the Tennessee chapter of Right to Life, declined to comment on the free speech concerns but said the bill was “needed to protect underage girls from being taken for a surgical procedure or given dangerous chemicals without their parent’s knowledge or consent.”

Chemicals routinely used in abortion procedures, almost exclusively mifepristone and misoprostol, have been rated as safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 24 years.

Definitions are crucial to understand legality, says expert

Battling encroaching limitations on free speech is imperative to protecting the freedoms within the First Amendment for all, whether those limitations come through intentionally restricting legislation or from vaguely worded laws, said Kevin Goldberg, a First Amendment lawyer at the Freedom Forum in Washington, D.C.

The confusion in this law over the word “recruit” is a prime example, he said.

“I do think this is vague as written,” he said. “If you put the law in front of more than one person, and they come to clearly different results as to what it means, it's probably vague. And if it's clearly vague, it could be void — ergo unconstitutional and unenforceable.”

The reason laws are often deemed void for vagueness is twofold, he said.

“The first reason we have this ‘void for vagueness’ doctrine is because laws of this type essentially deny due process rights, which is actually a part of the 14th amendment,” he said. “The point is that I need to know that I'm going to get in trouble and be given certain protections that allow me to defend myself. I need to be fully informed that I am going to get in trouble or not based on what I'm about to do.”

Laws addressing speech issues that are too vague essentially deny citizens the ability to know whether they are allowed to speak, said Goldberg.

“The second reason is that vague laws tend to be prone to arbitrary enforcement,” he said. “So you might have a pamphlet put out about abortion by a pro-life group and a pamphlet put out by a pro-choice group, and they may look relatively similar and may even both provide information that could fall under what somebody believes is recruitment. And law enforcement may punish only one because they can manipulate the meaning of the term recruit in the statute."

Gregory Magarian, a law professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and a former Supreme Court judicial clerk, noted that even including the word "recruit" in the law was an unusual choice.

"We can look to a dictionary definition and find the meaning of the word recruit, but when you look at it in the context of this statute, it's a sort of curious usage," Magarian said. "We don't normally think of 'recruiting' someone to get a medical procedure done, even if we're talking about an elective medical procedure. If I told you I thought you might benefit from plastic surgery, we wouldn't say that I recruited you to get plastic surgery. That's a really strange and non-intuitive use of the word. And so that's why it's really important to define words within their statutory context."

Magarian added that the persistence of lawmakers, in addition to the original writers of the bill, to not clarify the word recruit or add more defining language to the bill, could chill speech.

"It would certainly make sense from the standpoint of the legislature to avoid this problem by defining the term clearly," he said. "So that sort of opens up the question, 'Well, why didn't they do that?' Why didn't the sponsor on the floor not clarify this? The sort of cynical possibility is that they wanted this term to be vague — and in the free speech context, the reason that we don't like vagueness is the chilling effect on speech. It makes people self-censor. Maybe in this case, the legislature wanted to chill speech around abortion.

"The less sinister possibility is that (lawmakers) just really didn't know what they were doing and what they were enacting because it was a model legislation they picked up," he said. "It might seem politically expedient, at least before you start thinking about the constitutional implications."

Regardless of intentions, placing the onus on the person speaking to “try to figure out” whether they may break the law by speaking is simply not allowed under the constitution, Goldberg said.

“Just pointing to the fact that a word is in the dictionary and saying, ‘Well, anybody can look it up and know what it means,’ isn't a valid argument at all,” he said. “This law is going to have to either be rewritten with language directed to a definition of recruit — they're going to have to take more time on it, or the courts are going to have to deal with it.”

The USA Today Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

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