Four more states are being added to Chicago’s travel quarantine list: Kentucky, Wyoming, Texas, and Nevada.
No states have been removed from the list, so when the additions take effect Friday, the tally will hit 22 states, as well as one U.S. territory: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Chicagoans returning from states on the travel advisory list are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Exceptions are made for those who work in those states or commute to jobs there.
Illinois’ neighbor — and frequent vacation spot — to the north, Wisconsin, stays on the list, and is showing no signs of coming off. Georgia, however, is seeing a decline in daily case averages, so will be taken off the list next week if that continues, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health.
States go on the list when they average more than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. Despite an earlier threat to levy fines, the travel advisory is more educational than real. Compliance is voluntary. So far, warning letters are as far as City Hall has been willing to go.
“Our travel quarantine orders are primarily focused on education,” Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s health commissioner, has said. “They’ve been very successful in terms of encouraging people to change their travel patterns. Encouraging business travelers to delay travel unless it is absolutely essential.”
Contributing: Fran Spielman
