CHICAGO _ People who have spent more than 24 hours in Wisconsin will soon be required to self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.
Wisconsin becomes the 19th state from which travelers are being told to self-quarantine due to concerns over high coronavirus case rates. Lightfoot, who said Wisconsin will be added to the list later this week, didn't offer further details during an afternoon news conference.
Lightfoot's self-quarantine requirement was first implemented during the Fourth of July weekend but is not being actively enforced aside from signs and billboards telling people that they must self-quarantine. The order figures to be particularly problematic with Wisconsin, given its proximity and the high number of people from Illinois who spend weekends and vacations there.
The order requires people who have spent more than 24 hours in high-risk states to self-quarantine for 14 days after entering Chicago. States already on the list are Florida, Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, Nevada, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Idaho, California, Arkansas, Utah, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa.
Exceptions include essential workers, those coming here for medical treatment and those for whom "self-quarantine is not possible, practicable or advisable." The order also does not apply to people who are at the airport for a connecting flight, or are driving through the city on their way elsewhere.
Nobody has been fined yet, and Lightfoot on Monday said she's trying to "educate" people into compliance.
