Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, governors and health departments across the country issued orders and recommendations on the status of schools, businesses and public services.
With the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, the closures, capacity limits and large-scale mask orders that marked earlier phases of the pandemic gave way to vaccine and testing mandates and more targeted face-covering rules, which many states extended or reinstated as the delta and omicron variants spread in 2021 and 2022. As those waves receded, pandemic restrictions largely subsided as well.
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Some states and local governments maintained vaccination or masking orders for public employees and health care workers into 2023, but almost all such mandates had lapsed by May 11 of that year, when the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency ended. Several states have barred or limited mask and vaccine orders and other requirements through legislation or executive action.
AARP's 53 state and territory COVID-19 vaccine guides can help you find vaccines near you and provide the latest answers to common questions about costs, eligibility and availability.
At the national level, President Joe Biden's executive order requiring health care workers and federal executive branch employees to be vaccinated expired May 11, 2023. Another federal order that mandated masks on public modes of transportation, including commercial flights, and in transit hubs such as airports and bus and train stations, also ended that day, but it had not been enforced for more than a year due to a court order.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services formally ended vaccine or testing requirements for staff at long-term care facilities that participate in Medicare or Medicaid in August 2023.
There are no longer any states with general mask orders. A small number of state and local governments still require face-covering at certain times (such as respiratory illness season) in some high-risk settings, such as hospitals, nursing homes and shelters. Some states direct health care facilities to follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on mask use in medical settings. In most states, private businesses and venues may require masking or proof of vaccination as a condition for entry.
Here’s a look at each state’s vaccine, testing and mask requirements.
Vaccine and testing regulations: State law bars local governments, schools and businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for admission or to receive goods or services and grants workers broad rights to get religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates.
Gov. Kay Ivey (R) issued an order prohibiting any state executive branch agency from penalizing a business or individual for not complying with President Biden’s federal vaccine mandate.
More information: Check the state public health department’s COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) issued an order in April 2021 banning all executive branch departments from requiring anyone to provide proof of vaccination to travel to or around the state.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Laws signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey (R) in April and May 2022 prohibit state and local government entities from requiring Arizonans to get a COVID-19 vaccine (government-owned or -operated health care institutions are exempt) and bar state officials from requiring COVID-19 vaccines at schools.
Mask regulations: Ducey signed a measure in April 2022 banning face-covering orders for minors. School districts and local governments cannot require anyone under age 18 to wear a mask without parental consent. He signed legislation the following month prohibiting mask mandates in buildings run by state or local government.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed legislation Sept. 14 barring state and local government bodies from requiring vaccination against COVID-19 as a condition for employment, entry or provision of services. The measure took effect immediately.
Mask regulations: Then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) signed a bill that bans state and local mask mandates, but it was overturned by a state judge in December 2021.
More information: Check the Arkansas Department of Health's COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: A statewide vaccine mandate for health care workers ended in April 2023. A requirement that state employees be vaccinated or undergo regular testing was lifted in September 2022. San Luis Obispo County requires health care workers to get flu shots and be up to date on COVID-19 vaccines during respiratory illness season, defined as Nov. 1 to April 30.
Mask regulations: A statewide mask requirement covering health care and long-term care facilities, emergency and homeless shelters, and jails and prisons ended in April 2023.
Several Bay Area and Northern California jurisdictions maintain mask requirements in medical facilities throughout respiratory illness season. Mandates in the city of San Francisco and in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties ended April 30.
More information: Read California’s current safety measures.
Vaccine and testing regulations: The state Board of Public Health ended a vaccine requirement for health care workers in July 2022. A similar mandate for state employees was repealed the following month.
Mask regulations: The state dropped its mask mandate for health care facilities in October 2022. A mask requirement for workers at federally regulated long-term care facilities in areas of high COVID-19 transmission lapsed with the end of the public health emergency. Health care workers are directed to follow CDC guidance on face-covering.
More Information: Check the Colorado Department of Health & Public Environment’s COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: A vaccine mandate for state employees and staff at schools and childcare facilities ended in April 2022 as most of Gov. Ned Lamont's COVID-related executive orders expired. The state's latest COVID-19 guidance refers people to the CDC's COVID website.
Mask regulations: A face-covering requirement for health care facilities, long-term care facilities and shelters ended in April 2022.
What to Say When A Household Member Won’t Get VaccinatedMore information: See Connecticut’s COVID-19 response page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Following the end of the federal and state public health emergencies on May 11, 2023, there are no longer vaccination or testing requirements for state employees, according to the Delaware Division of Public Health. Health care and long-term care facilities are encouraged to follow current CDC guidelines for infection control.
Mask regulations: A mask mandate for K-12 schools and childcare facilities ended March 31, 2022. With the end of the public health emergency, medical and long-term care facilities are no longer under a state mask order and are encouraged to follow the CDC guidance on masking.
More information: Read Delaware’s COVID-19 guidance.
Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that District government employees, contractors and interns be fully vaccinated ended April 24, 2023.
Mask regulations: Face-covering is required in health care facilities when the COVID-19 community level is rated high by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
More information: Read the District’s COVID-19 guidances and resources.
Vaccine and testing regulations: A state law that took effect June 1, 2023, bars businesses, government bodies and educational institutions from requiring COVID-19 vaccination or testing as a condition of employment, entry or provision of services.
Mask regulations: The same measure bars private and public-sector entities from imposing mask mandates.
More information: Read about Florida’s COVID-19 response.
Vaccine and testing requirements: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed an order in August 2021 that prohibits local governments from mandating COVID-19 restrictions such as vaccination requirements for private businesses. A state law in effect through at least June 30, 2023, bars government entities from requiring vaccination as a condition for employment or receiving public services.
Mask requirements: Kemp's August 2021 order also allows bars local governments from enforcing mask mandates on private businesses without the business's consent. He signed legislation in March 2022 that allows parents to decide whether their children wear a mask in school, even if the local district implements a mandate.
An indoor mask mandate enforced in Athens and Clarke County during periods of high COVID-19 transmission expired in full Oct. 6.
More information: Check the state department of health’s COVID-19 page.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Democratic Gov. David Ige’s order that state employees show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing was lifted March 25, 2022, as were all vaccine, testing and quarantine requirements for travel to Hawaii.
Mask regulations: Hawaii’s statewide mask mandate, the last in the country, expired March 25, 2022.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page for updates.
Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Brad Little (R) signed legislation in April 2023 that prohibits most public and private employers from imposing vaccine mandates on employees. The measure, which took effect immediately, also prohibits government entities, businesses and venues from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition for someone to enter a premises or receive services.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page for more information.
Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that unvaccinated staff at health care and long-term care facilities get tested weekly for COVID-19 was lifted by Gov. J.P. Pritzker (D) in October 2022.
Mask regulations: Face-covering is no longer required in health care and long-term care facilities, per Pritzker's October 2022 order. Masks are recommended at facilities in areas of high community spread.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.
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Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Eric Holcomb (R) signed legislation in April 2021 banning state and local governments from requiring vaccine passports.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.
Health & Wellness Dental insurance plans for members and their families See more Health & Wellness offers >Vaccine and testing regulations: A state law enacted in 2021 expands employees’ rights to claim religious or medical exemptions to workplace vaccine mandates. Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signed legislation in June 2022 barring public and private schools, colleges and universities, and childcare centers from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for attendance.
Mask regulations: State law prohibits local governments from ordering businesses to impose mask rules. On May 16, 2022, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Iowa school districts cannot issue mask mandates unless they’re needed to comply with other federal or state laws.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed legislation in November 2021 requiring employers that mandate vaccines to allow for a medical or religious exemption.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.No current regulations: There are no state vaccine or mask mandates in force, nor any prohibitions of mandates.
More information: Check the state public health department’s COVID-19 page.No current regulations: Then-Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) ended the state’s emergency public health order in March 2022. There are no state vaccine or mask mandates in force, nor any prohibitions of mandates.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: The state Department of Health of Human Services rescinded a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in September 2023.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Employees at health care and residential care facilities operated by the state or local governments must show proof of vaccination. Those who do not are "required to wear appropriate personal protective equipment," as determined by the facility, while on the job, under an April 18, 2023, health department order.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page .Vaccine and testing regulations: Long-term care providers and home care workers were required to be vaccinated by Oct. 31, 2021. A vaccine mandate for state government employees was lifted May 11, 2023, in conjunction with the end of the state and federal public health emergencies, as was a similar rule for Boston city employees.
Mask regulations: Mask mandates covering long-term care facilities, medical facilities, prisons and shelters ended May 11, 2023. Then-Gov. Charlie Baker (R) lifted a statewide mask mandate for K-12 public schools on Feb. 28, 2022.
More information: Read Massachusetts’ COVID-19 updates.Vaccine and testing regulations: A state budget law enacted in September 2021 prohibits publicly funded agencies from requiring employees or customers to be vaccinated.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that state employees get vaccinated or submit to regular testing expired in May 2022.
More information: See Minnesota's COVID-19 response page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation in April 2022 that bars state agencies and local governments from imposing COVID-19 vaccine requirements on employees or people seeking services.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mike Parson (R) issued an order that prohibits state agencies from compelling an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine or penalizing a business for noncompliance with federal vaccine mandates. State law prohibits local governments from requiring residents to show proof of vaccination to access public services.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page .Vaccine and testing regulations: In April 2021, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed an executive order prohibiting vaccine passports in Montana. Employers, including private companies, are barred by state law from discriminating based on vaccination status.
Mask regulations: State law restricts local jurisdictions’ authority to impose mask orders, and Gianforte announced an emergency rule in August 2021 directing schools to allow parents and students to opt out of face-covering mandates.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Legislation signed by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) in February 2022 requires employers to allow for exemptions from workplace vaccine mandates for medical or religious reasons.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page. What to Say When You Have Been Exposed to COVIDVaccine and testing regulations: A requirement that state employees who aren’t fully vaccinated submit to weekly testing was lifted in March 2022.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Most state and local government agencies are barred from imposing workplace vaccine requirements. The prohibition does not apply to government-run medical facilities, including nursing homes, but those facilities must grant employee requests for exemptions on medical or religious grounds under legislation signed in June 2022 by Gov. Chris Sununu.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Phil Murphy issued an executive order in June 2023 ending the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for workers in health care settings, including long-term care facilities. Murphy had previously lifted a testing requirement for health care staff and testing and vaccine mandates for employees at congregate living facilities such as group homes and prisons.
Mask regulations: A mask mandate for health care facilities ended in April 2023. More information: Read New Jersey’s COVID-19 information hub.Vaccine and testing regulations: With the end of the state public health emergency on March 31, 2023, and of the federal emergency the following May, there are no vaccine or testing requirements in place.
Mask regulations: The state no longer requires masking in hospitals, long-term care facilities and other congregate settings.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: A statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers was formally lifted in October. A requirement that unvaccinated state employees submit to regular COVID-19 testing ended in June 2022.
On Feb. 10, 2023, New York City dropped a requirement that current and prospective municipal workers show proof of vaccination. A similar mandate for private-sector workers was lifted the previous November.
Mask regulations: A state mask mandate for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care settings was rescinded in February 2023. Face-covering is required for staff and visitors at public hospitals, health centers and nursing homes in New York City.
More information: Read about New York's COVID-19 response and resources.
Vaccine and testing regulations: There are no longer any vaccine or testing requirements for state employees or health care workers.
Mask regulations: Health care and long-term care facilities follow the CDC guidance on masking, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
More information: See the state health department’s COVID-19 guidance.Vaccine and testing regulations: State and local governments are barred from requiring employees to be vaccinated. Private employers with vaccine mandates must allow exemptions on the basis of an employee’s medical condition; a recent COVID-19 infection; religious, philosophical or moral objections to vaccination; or agreement to submit to periodic testing. Businesses are prohibited from requiring documentation of a customer’s vaccination status.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.No current regulations: Gov. Mike DeWine (R) ended the state’s public health emergency in June 2021. There are no state vaccine or mask mandates in force, nor any prohibitions of mandates.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed an order that prohibits state agencies from requiring a visitor to show proof of vaccination to enter public buildings. The order exempts agencies that conduct medical activities requiring patient interaction.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: A vaccine requirement for health care workers ended May 11, 2023. A similar order covering school staff expired the following month. A vaccine mandate for state government employees was lifted April 1, 2022.
Mask regulations: A statewide indoor mask mandate expired March 12, 2022. A face-covering requirement for workers in health care settings ended April 3, 2023.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: State health care employees and workers in high-risk congregate-care facilities were required to be vaccinated by Sept. 7, 2021, or undergo regular testing. New hires in such facilities must be vaccinated.
Philadelphia ended vaccine requirements for city employees and health care workers in May 2023. Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, rescinded a vaccine mandate for county employees the same month.
More information: Visit the state department of health’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Pedro Pierluisi (D) issued an executive order in March 2022 lifting workplace vaccine and booster mandates except for those necessary to comply with federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rules.
Mask regulations: Pierluisi ended Puerto Rico’s general indoor mask order in March 2022 and lifted the mandate for schools and childcare centers the following September. Face-covering requirements in medical and long-term care facilities were lifted May 11, 2023.
More information: Check the Puerto Rico health department’s COVID-19 guidelines and protocols (Spanish).
Vaccine and testing regulations: Health care workers were required to be vaccinated by Oct. 1, 2021, unless they were medically exempt.
Mask regulations: Face-covering is required for health care workers who are not up to date with their vaccines when weekly COVID-19 community levels in their area exceed 50 cases per 100,000 people (check the Rhode Island Department of Health’s COVID-19 data hub).
More information: See the health department’s COVID-19 information page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signed legislation in April 2022 that bars the state, local governments and school districts from requiring COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for employment or attendance and prohibits places of public accommodation such as hospitals, restaurants, theaters and stores from denying service based on vaccination status. The measure took effect immediately and will remain in force through at least the end of 2023.
Mask regulations: There is no statewide requirement, and McMaster issued an executive order in May 2021 invalidating local mask orders in effect at the time. A local mandate covering indoor public spaces in in unincorporated parts of Richland County expired in May 2022.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Kristi Noem (R) issued an executive order in April 2021 barring state and local governments from issuing or requiring the use of vaccine passports.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: State law prohibits private employers from compelling workers to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and from taking “adverse action” or discriminating against those to object to getting vaccinated.
Mask regulations: Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed legislation in November 2021 restricting local governments’ authority to institute face-covering orders.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: A state law that took effect Sept. 1, 2023, prohibits state and local government bodies from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The measure does not cover private businesses.
Mask regulations: The 2023 law also bars most government entities from mandating mask use to prevent the spread of COVID-19. There are exceptions for health care, corrections and juvenile justice centers and residential facilities for people with intellectual or development disabilities.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine or testing regulations: State agencies and public universities are prohibited from requiring proof of vaccination. Private employers with workplace vaccine requirements must allow exemptions for medical reasons, prior COVID-19 infection, or religious or personal beliefs.
More information: Check the state’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine or testing regulations: A requirement that state employees get vaccinated or submit to weekly testing was lifted in April 2022.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine or testing regulations: Upon taking office in January 2022, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) rescinded his predecessor’s executive order mandating vaccination for state employees.
Mask regulations: State legislation adopted in February 2022 effectively bars school mask mandates by allowing parents to decide whether or not their children wear masks in public schools and early childhood programs.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: A vaccine requirement covering employees at most state agencies was rescinded May 11. A similar order for health care and education workers expired Oct. 31, 2022, with the end of the state's COVID-19 emergency order.
Mask regulations: A general indoor mask mandate was lifted March 12, 2022. A mask order covering health care, long-term care and correctional facilities was lifted April 3, 2023.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: State law prohibits government entities from requiring proof of vaccination as a condition for entering their premises or utilizing services. Employers with workplace vaccine mandates are required to except employees with valid medical or religious exemptions.
More information: Check the state health department’s COVID-19 page.Vaccine and testing regulations: Gov. Mark Gordon (R) issued a directive in May 2021 that prohibits state bodies from requiring proof of vaccination to access facilities and services and encouraging, but not requiring, local governments and private business to do the same.
