Travelers from one more state must quarantine when they arrive in Massachusetts starting Saturday, health officials have announced.
North Dakota, which had been added to the low-risk list of Massachusetts' COVID travel order two weeks ago, was taken off again Friday. That leaves Puerto Rico and Hawaii as the only locations in the United States considered low-enough risk for quarantine-free travel since the end of November.
The change for travelers from North Dakota goes into effect Saturday morning after midnight, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said.
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To be included on Massachusetts' list of low-risk states for travel, the location must have fewer than 10 average daily cases per 100,000 people and a positive COVID-19 test rate below 5%. Both figures must hold over at least a seven-day average.
The change comes as the coronavirus surge recedes both in Massachusetts and nationwide. Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Thursday that, with metrics trending in the right direction, Massachusetts would be stepping ahead in its coronavirus reopening plan on Monday.
Travelers from places that aren't on the low-risk list must fill out the Massachusetts Travel Form and quarantine for 14 days, according to the state's guidelines. That includes anyone who's coming from one of the low-risk states but stayed "for more than a transitory period of time in the last 14 days" in a higher-risk state.
There are some exemptions, including for people who are going to higher-risk states just to commute or go to school. See the full order, which includes the exemptions, here.
