Only Travel To Hawaii Doesn't Require Chicagoans To Quarantine

CHICAGO – Hawaii is only state Chicagoans can visit without being required to self-quarantine under the city's travel restrictions, according to the public health department's updated order.

On Tuesday, the city updated its Emergency Travel order to include 31 states with a higher COVID-19 infection rate than Chicago, which is 60 new cases per day per 100,000 residents. The order requires people who travel to COVID-19 hot spots for more than a day to quarantine for 10 days after traveling to or from one of those locations.

Chicagoans traveling to 15 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, that have between 15 and 60 cases per day on a seven-day rolling average must quarantine for 10 days or prove they tested negative for coronavirus no more than 72 hours before arrival in Chicago and practice strict masking and social distancing, including avoiding in-person gatherings.

The order break states and territories into three categories — Yellow, Orange and Red — based on how bad their outbreak is. Regardless of category, city public health officials have urged Chicagoans to avoid traveling.

This week eight states were added to the highest-risk category including Tennessee, Arizona, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, California, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and West Virginia. Only Iowa moved from the Red to Orange category. Maine and Vermont, which required no travel restrictions last week, were added to the Orange list due to a spike in cases.

The latest update goes into effect Friday. People found violating the quarantine order could be fined $100-$500 per day, up to $7,000, city officials said.

More information is available on online.