Four states, including Wisconsin, were added to Chicago’s emergency travel order Tuesday, requiring anyone visiting or returning to the city from one of now 22 states to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Chicago's travel order will be evaluated once again Tuesday as several states near the threshold for being added to the city's quarantine list. But which states, if any, will be added?
The latest update to the order took effect Friday, requiring anyone visiting or returning to the city from one of now 22 states to self-quarantine for 14 days. The newest states added were Wisconsin, Missouri, North Dakota and Nebraska.
The city's travel order is evaluated every Tuesday, with any additions taking effect the following Friday.
States are added to the list if they have "a case rate greater than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 resident population, per day, over a 7-day rolling average." (See where each state stands on that metric in the second column of the chart below. )
Chicago's travel order first began on July 6.
In addition to the latest four, other states included are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Some of those states, however, could be removed from the list if they fall below the threshold.
"We're watching all of our neighbors very, very carefully and we're going to be very prudent," Lightfoot said last week.
So far, Indiana has not been added to the city's list.
"Indiana doesn't quite rise to that level, which is a good thing for the residents of the Hoosier state but we're watching all of our neighbors very carefully," she said.
Arwady said travelers entering or returning to Chicago from "states experiencing a surge in new COVID-19 cases" will need to quarantine "for a 14-day period from the time of last contact within the identified state." Essential workers could be exempt from the quarantine requirement, however, as long as their employer certifies their work in writing.
The order is set to remain in effect until further notice.
The move comes as states across the U.S. see surges of coronavirus cases, many shutting down bars and restaurants in an effort to quell or prevent a spike.
New cases have surged in several states across the nation, setting new records, driven mostly by expanding outbreaks in the American South and West.
New York and New Jersey are also asking visitors from several states from the Carolinas to California to quarantine themselves for two weeks.
Still, outside of Chicago, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state likely won't require residents who travel to and from neighboring states to quarantine for two weeks solely because of that travel.
"We don't live in a country where you close the borders between states," Pritzker said during the governor's coronavirus briefing. "And we're not going to stop people who live in Illinois and work in Wisconsin from doing so."
