Do You Have to Quarantine After Flying to Florida?

Amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., several local areas in the country have issued quarantine mandates and travel advisories for travelers from certain states including Florida, which has seen a spike in new infections in recent weeks.

Quarantines aim to separate those who may have been exposed to the virus from others in a bid to help minimize the risk of spreading infection. Whether an individual will be subject to a quarantine after traveling to Florida will depend on their destination.

Those heading to the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days from the time of last contact within a list of applicable states, which includes Florida.

Travelers going to Chicago, the most populous city of Illinois, are also asked "to self-quarantine for a 14-day period from the time of last contact," within Florida and some other states, the Chicago Department of Public Health advised.

The Chicago city government website noted violators of the quarantine rules are subject to fines of $100 to $500 per day and up to $7,000 in total.

In Kansas, those who have traveled to Florida either on or after June 29 are required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed.

Those heading to New Mexico and Vermont are also required to self-quarantine when traveling from Florida.

Some states, Maine, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Alaska, are waiving quarantine mandates for travelers from Florida who can produce proof of a recent negative test result or in some cases be tested on arrival.

Check the state health department and government websites for more detailed information on quarantine mandates before traveling.

Florida has seen nearly 223,800 confirmed cases to date, as of Thursday, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The percentage of positive tests in Florida has been increasing from the week starting June 7, when it was reported to be at 4.34 percent. The figure more than doubled to 11.98 percent in the week starting June 28, according to data from the Florida Department of Health.

Florida's daily case count has been mostly increasing from about May 27, around three weeks since most Florida counties began phase one of reopening on May 4.

The daily case count saw sharper rises from around June 8, just days after phase two of reopening began on June 5.

The novel coronavirus, first reported in Wuhan, China, has spread to more than 12 million people across the globe, including over three million in the U.S. Over 6.6 million globally have reportedly recovered from infection, while over 550,400 have died, as of Thursday, according to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University.

The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S.

The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates the countries with the most COVID-19 cases.

The graphic below, provided by Statista, illustrates the seven-day rolling average of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and European Union.