U.S. state and local government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

State, territorial, tribal, and local governments have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States with various declarations of emergency, closure of schools and public meeting places, lockdowns, and other restrictions intended to slow the progression of the virus.

Multiple groups of states have formed compacts in an attempt to coordinate some of their responses. On the West coast: California, Oregon, and Washington state; in the Northeast: Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island; and in the Midwest: Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.

There was a link between public health outcomes and partisanship between states. At the beginning of the pandemic to early June 2020, Democratic-led states had higher case rates than Republican-led states, while in the second half of 2020, Republican-led states saw higher case and death rates than states led by Democrats. States with tougher policies generally had fewer coronavirus cases and deaths. Thousands of US counties also initiated their own policy responses to the pandemic, resulting in significant variability even within states.

State-level regulations

Initial pandemic responses, including full lockdowns

This is a list of regulations that were imposed at the state level, restricting activities and closing facilities as a result of the pandemic. Many counties and municipal jurisdictions have imposed more stringent regulations. A Columbia University model estimated 54,000 deaths would have been prevented if states had enacted restrictions starting a few weeks earlier, on March 1.

In Michigan, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Vermont, retailers who sold a mix of essential and non-essential items were only allowed to sell essential items.

Fully reopening for states that chose to shut down

September 2020

Florida nearly fully reopened on September 25, 2020. All businesses were allowed to reopen at 100% except bars which were allowed to be restricted to 50% capacity by local governments. The governor, after initially leaving mask mandates up to local governments, overrode all local mandates and announced that no Florida government could fine someone for failing to social distance or wear a mask.

February 2021

On February 5, Iowa announced that all mandates would be repealed by February 8. This caught some by surprise since Iowa was struggling (compared to other states) to distribute coronavirus vaccines in early February.

On February 26, Arkansas fully repealed all mandates except for a mask mandate, which the governor said would likely be repealed at the end of March. Arkansas continues to make recommendations.

March 2021

Mississippi announced on March 2, 2021, that it would fully reopen on March 3. The state would continue to make recommendations, but would repeal all mandates. Texas also announced on March 2 that it would be fully reopened on March 10, 2021, with no mask requirements; the state would continue to issue recommendations.

Wyoming announced on March 8, 2021, that it will fully reopen March 16. That reopening would include ending its mask mandate. Additionally, by March 11, 2021, Connecticut and West Virginia had fully reopened except for mask mandates, and Arizona had fully reopened except for mask and social distancing mandates.

Indian Reservations

On March 19, the Wiyot Tribe

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