Wisconsin Returns To Chicago's COVID-19 Travel Quarantine List

CHICAGO — Starting Friday, Wisconsin makes a return trip to the city's coronavirus travel quarantine list, public health officials said.

After Wisconsin's rate of coronavirus infection spiked to its highest level last week, city health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady warned that Illinois' northern neighbor might rejoin the list of states designated as COVID-19 hotspots for having a weekly average of more than 15 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents.

That prediction came to fruition Tuesday. "Unfortunately, Wisconsin is in very poor control when it comes to COVID," Arwady said. Over the last two weeks, the state has had a 130-percent spike in cases and a 15 percent positivity rate. That's the worst coronavirus statistics in the U.S. after North Dakota and South Dakota, Awardy told reporters at a news conference.

"I hope that when people see this news about Wisconsin, they think twice about going to Wisconsin right now. This is about risk for someone who’s traveling, and then the risk if they bring it back to Chicago," she said.

Awardy also announced that Montana, Idaho, Minnesota and Puerto Rico will join Wisconsin on the quarantine list, which includes 14 other states. Kentucky and Louisiana were removed from the list Tuesday.