CT Tightens Coronavirus Thanksgiving Travel Restrictions

CONNECTICUT — On what is traditionally the busiest travel week of the year, state health officials are advising residents to stay put. The guidance applies to those who live in the state as well as visitors planning to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Connecticut on Thursday.

The U.S. Virgin Islands was added to Connecticut's coronavirus travel advisory list Tuesday and no states or territories were dropped. That brought the number of restricted states and territories to 48, according to the latest report from the state Department of Public Health.

About 3 million Americans boarded planes over the weekend, and the number of people in transit is only expected to grow, peaking next Sunday as everyone makes their way back to wherever they came from. If the predictions hold, it will be the biggest crowd to pass through turnstiles in the shortest time since the pandemic began in March.

Still, experts expect Thanksgiving travel to be down more than half in 2020.

If you cannot be dissuaded from traveling, cars are the safest way to go, according to a new report. Buses, not surprisingly, are at the other end of the scale.

States or territories are added to Connecticut's travel advisory list if they have a daily positive coronavirus test rate higher than 10 cases per 100,000 residents or a 10 percent or higher positive rate over a seven-day rolling average. Travelers must complete a travel health form or risk a civil penalty of $1,000 for each violation.

Workers traveling from affected states to Connecticut and vice versa who work in critical infrastructure as designated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, including students in certain health care professions, and any state, local and federal officials and employees, are exempt from the quarantine requirement, provided such travel is work-related. Those essential workers must still complete the travel health form, however.

While there currently are no Connecticut-imposed restrictions on international travel, the federal government continues to provide international travel recommendations for anyone living inside the United States. For guidance on international travel, see the "COVID-19 Travel Recommendations" published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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As of Tuesday, the following 48 locations were included in Connecticut's travel advisory:

1. Alabama
2. Alaska
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California
6. Colorado
7. Delaware
8. Florida
9. Georgia
10. Guam
11. Idaho
12. Illinois
13. Indiana
14. Iowa
15. Kansas
16. Kentucky
17. Louisiana
18. Maine
19. Maryland
20. Massachusetts
21. Michigan
22. Minnesota
23. Mississippi
24. Missouri
25. Montana
26. Nebraska
27. Nevada
28. New Hampshire
29. New Mexico
30. North Carolina
31. North Dakota
32. Ohio
33. Oklahoma
34. Oregon
35. Pennsylvania
36. Puerto Rico
37. South Carolina
38. South Dakota
39. Tennessee
40. Texas
41. Utah
42. Vermont
43. Virgin Islands
44. Virginia
45. Washington
46. West Virginia
47. Wisconsin
48. Wyoming