As New England Travel Exemptions Tighten, New Hampshire Adds Quarantine Requirement

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in New England, many states in the region have revised or issued new travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. While states continue to adjust the states exempt from their travel requirements, New Hampshire has, for the first time, instituted a quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers to match its existing rules for business travel. Below is a summary of the latest guidance from New Hampshire, while a summary of travel restrictions throughout the region is available here.

Effective November 15, Order 72 requires all travelers entering New Hampshire to adhere to the travel-related provisions in the Universal Guidelines. Guidance from NH Public Health Services clarifies that anyone entering the state, including returning residents, must self-quarantine for 14 days following the last date of any high-risk travel. High-risk travel includes any travel internationally (including to/from Canada); on a cruise ship or domestic travel outside of New England (Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island) for non-essential purposes.

Essential travel includes travel for work, school, personal safety, medical care, care of others, parental shared custody, for medication, and for food or beverage (brief trips for take-out and groceries only). Essential travel also includes travel for students and their parents or guardians who are visiting institutions of higher learning or preparatory high schools as potential future students, including allowing the students to remain at the schools for overnight stays.

Travelers are permitted to quarantine for the 14 days prior to their travel to New Hampshire as long as their travel to New Hampshire is via personal vehicle; otherwise, the quarantine must be in-state. A traveler may end the quarantine by receiving a negative COVID test after seven days of quarantine, provided the person is also asymptomatic. This “test-out” exemption does not apply to persons quarantining due to close contact exposure to a person with COVID-19.

Under prior executive orders, the penalties for violating emergency rules and regulations related to the coronavirus in New Hampshire are generally $1,000 for each violation or each day a violation continues.

For questions on how these orders affect your business, please contact firm attorneys Kathleen Hamann or Sarah Remes.