27/07/2020
Information & Advisories: United States Of America
Companies and travelers should determine when travel is safe and advisable for them. This is for informational purposes only and should be used as such. Please continue to monitor your search as you get closer to your travel dates.
Summary
Authorities imposed international travel restrictions from late February – a month after the first cases were detected in the country – and nationwide social distancing guidelines from late March. The country has the highest case and fatality figures in the world. From March, stay-at-home lockdown began to be implemented as the virus spread across the country. All states have begun reopening as of June at widely varying paces, yet also reimposing some restrictions after a resurgence of cases in some states. Health authorities still warn against any non-essential travel despite the reopenings.
International Travel
International Flights
American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other major carriers have suspended most flights to China, Hong Kong, Macau, the UK, continental Europe and Latin America, through April and beyond. Officials partially lifted a ban on flights by Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines from 16 June after the Chinese authorities allowed United and Delta airlines to operate one round-trip between the two countries.
Entry and Borders
A ban on tourist visitors from all of Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Europe and much of Asia remains in place. Travellers who have transited through Brazil, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland within 14 days of their planned arrival in the US are banned from entering the US; the restrictions do not apply to legal permanent residents or US citizens and their immediate family members. Designated screening airports for European flights are New York-JFK (JFK/KJFK), Chicago O'Hare (ORD/KORD), San Francisco (SFO/KSFO), Seattle-Tacoma (SEA/KSEA), Honolulu (HNL/PHNL), Los Angeles (LAX/LAX), Atlanta (ATL/KATL), Washington-Dulles (IAD/KIAD), Newark Liberty (EWR/KEWR), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW/KDFW), Detroit (DTW/KDW), Boston (BOS/KBOS) and Miami (MIA/KMIA). The US, Mexican and Canadian governments have agreed to close the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders to travellers crossing for non-essential purposes, including tourism and recreation, until 21 August. Movement of cross-border workers and commercial traffic are not affected by the measure. Additional travel restrictions have been imposed on the US-Mexico border between Arizona and Sonrora from 3 July.
The State Department announced on 18 March that it is indefinitely suspending all routine immigrant and non-immigrant visa services in most countries. Emergency visas will continue to be processed on an ad hoc basis. A ban on the issuance of immigration green cards is in place for people outside the US who do not hold valid immigrant visas or travel documents has been extended until the end of 2020. Healthcare professionals, military personnel and their dependents, EB-5 visa holders, SI/SQ visa holders and US citizens' foreign-born spouses and children under the age of 21 are exempt.
Quarantine
A mandatory 14-day home-quarantine is required for all US citizens arriving from China. All returning travellers are advised to home-quarantine for 14 days. Some states, including Illinois, Vermont, Kansas, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Alaska, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C. and Hawaii, have implemented 14-day quarantine requirements for out-of-state travellers to be enforced with daily fines. Officials in Hawaii indicated that travellers who present a negative COVID-19 test result administered 72 hours before departure will be exempt from a 14-day quarantine on arrival from 1 September.
Other Restrictions
Multiple airports - including Denver (DEN/KDEN), Colorado Springs (COS/KCOS), Chicago O'Hare (ORD/KORD), Reagan National (DCA/KDCA), Washington Dulles (IAD/KIAD), Baltimore-Washington (BWI/KBWI), John F. Kennedy (JFK/KJFK), Newark Liberty (EWR/KEWR), LaGuardia (LGA/KLGA), Philadelphia (PHL/KPHL), Los Angeles (LAX/KLAX), San Diego (SAN/KSAN), San Francisco (SFO/KSFO) an Seattle-Tacoma (SEA/KSEA) - require passengers to wear face masks while they are inside airport facilities.
Authorities have suspended all cruise ship traffic until at least 30 September.
Domestic Situation
Areas under Curfew
While most localities have lifted curfews as of the end of July, some areas with high infection rates such as Miami, Palm Beach, Quincy and Fort Lauderdale in Florida and Starr, Cameron, Harris and Hidalgo counties in Texas, have reimposed overnight curfews and shut down non-essential businesses.
Numerous American Indian reservations, including the largest, the Navajo Nation in Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, have imposed dawn-to-dusk curfews in their territories and restricted non-essential movement until further notice.
Other Restrictions
Multiple states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Montana, Mississippi, Louisiana, West Virginia, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., require residents to wear masks while out in public. Violators may be subject to fines and be denied entry to businesses and use of public transport. All other states and territories have voluntary measures or measures restricted to specific venues and municipalities. Enforcement varies widely and is not consistently enforced at the local level.
Demonstrations and Unrest
Anti-government protests organised by social activists have taken place in multiple states to demand the lifting of COVID-19 stay at home orders. Some participants demonstrated armed with semi-automatic weapons and tactical gear. Similar demonstrations are more likely in states with restrictive COVID-19 measures. Counter-demonstrations by healthcare workers also took place in several locations. On 1 May, a security guard was shot and killed following an altercation with a customer who refused to wear a mask while shopping at a store in Flint, Michigan.
