Chicago Removes Travel Restrictions On Many States

CHICAGO — The Chicago Department of Public Health updated the city's emergency travel order on Tuesday, loosening restrictions on travel to 11 states and Puerto Rico. The agency also announced that fully vaccinated people who are not experiencing illness do not have to quarantine or test negative after returning from an orange tier state.

Non-vaccinated travelers arriving from orange tier states must still quarantine for 10 days or test negative for the coronavirus no earlier than 72 hours prior to arriving in Chicago. Many airports are offering rapid COVID-19 tests to arriving travelers, but those people will have to stay separate from others while they wait for a negative result.

The orange tier includes states where the seven-day average is about 15 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Yellow tiered states have managed to stay below that threshold.

Two weeks ago, Indiana was moved from the yellow tier to the orange tier due to a surge in cases. With the latest announcement, Indiana is back in the yellow tier, meaning it is safer to travel to and from.

Right now, Chicago health officials only require travelers to test negative prior to or quarantine after returning to the city from two Midwestern states: Minnesota and Michigan.

Other orange tier states include:

• Colorado
• Michigan
• Maine
• West Virginia
• Minnesota
• Washington
• Florida

While the newest announcement lifts restrictions on many vacation favorites, public health officials are still warning residents that the safest way to travel is to get vaccinated.

"Chicago's daily case rate has dropped considerably over the past two weeks but Chicagoans must realize that until you are fully vaccinated, you are still at risk of contracting COVID-19," city health officials said in a news release. "COVID-19 vaccinations are widely available in Chicago and are safe and effective."

The city reexamines the travel order every two weeks and puts new regulations into effect every other Friday at midnight. Essential workers traveling for work, people traveling for medical or caretaking reasons, and people passing through an orange state for less than 24 hours are exempt from travel restrictions, as are fully vaccinated people.