Indiana has joined the states on Chicago’s emergency travel order after a surge of coronavirus cases in the Hoosier state.
People coming to Chicago from states on the list are asked to quarantine for 14 days, though there are exceptions for necessary trips, such as for medical care or travel by essential workers.
Changes to the list of states affected by the travel advisory are announced on Tuesdays and take effect the following Friday.
Though there is no formal enforcement of the quarantine, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady urged residents to follow the order, especially those living near the Indiana border on the Southeast Side. She said Indiana’s loosening of “science-based” restrictions should concern everyone.
“I just want you and your families to be able to avoid COVID and one of the best ways that you can do that is to not have unnecessary exposure to high risk settings for COVID,” Arwady said. “It’s not just that [Indiana’s] rates are higher, although they are, it’s that a lot of the science-based things that we have in place — ranging from masks to sizes of gatherings to distance at a restaurant — are currently not in place” in Indiana.
The announcement comes as Illinois health officials reported 2,851 new confirmed coronavirus cases while the state’s average positivity rate has continued to grow over the last week.
Illinois also recorded 29 additional COVID-19 related deaths in 102 counties, pushing the state’s death tally past 9,000. As of Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Public Health was reporting 9.026 victims of COVID-19.
All 29 people whose deaths were most recently recorded were over age 40. As of last night, 1,848 people in Illinois were in the hospital with COVID-19, 406 of those patients were in ICU and 160 patients were on ventilators.
The most recent confirmed cases were among 55,993 tests conducted over the last 24 hours. The state’s seven-day positivity rate continued to rise, reaching 4.5% — a full percentage point higher than last week.
The state has documented seven straight days of 2,000-plus confirmed cases.
“More than 9,000 Illinoisans — our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, family, friends, and neighbors — have had their lives cut short by COVID-19, leaving tens of thousands more to grieve loved ones lost too soon,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “My heart breaks for all those who have lost a loved one in this battle we never asked to fight — may their memories be for a blessing.”
Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, urged people take the necessary precautions to protect themselves and others from this disease.
“After 9 months of battling this virus and hearing the updates each day, many of us forget that the hospitalizations and deaths are more than just numbers,” Ezike said in a statement. “They are our family, friends, and loved ones who have been directly impacted by COVID-19, which continues to spread.”
“You can help slow the spread and reduce the number of people who become sick with COVID-19 by wearing your mask, washing your hands, and watching your distance.”
Chicagoans returning from states on the travel advisory list are asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
Indiana officially goes on the list as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, along with Rhode Island and New Mexico. The list now includes 25 states as well as Puerto Rico.
