Wisconsin To Be Added To Chicago Travel Quarantine List This Week
CHICAGO (CBS) -- As COVID-19 numbers are on the rise across the country, Chicago's Mayor confirmed Wisconsin will be added to the city's travel quarantine list this week.
That list currently includes 18 states.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said despite summer travel, people need to be on their guard to stop the spread of COVID-19. The mayor said while cities in the south and southwest have seen a record number of coronavirus cases, she hopes to keep the spreading at a distance for Chicagoans.
"We're also seeing an increase in states around us. Wisconsin, for example, is going to go on our quarantine list later this week," Lightfoot said. "And even in the suburban Cook County area, we have some concerns about what we're seeing."
Last week, city officials added Kansas to the mandatory travel quarantine order in Chicago, requiring anyone traveling from states considered to be COVID-19 hotspots to self-isolate for 14 days upon arriving in the city. Wisconsin also could be added to the list as early as next week, as cases there continue to climb.
Travelers coming in from Kansas will be included in the order, which already covered travel from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The quarantine order first went into effect on July 6.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said the COVID-19 outbreak in those states is not under control in large part because people aren't wearing masks like they should.
For the sixth day in a row, Illinois is reporting more than 1,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide.
The Illinois Department of Public Health on Monday announced 1,231 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, including 18 deaths. Illinois has now reported more than 1,000 daily cases of the virus 14 times in July, compared to only twice in June.
Monday's tally brings the state to a total of 172,655 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 7,416 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The mayor said neighboring Indiana hasn't shown spikes seen in other areas, but she said the state is being watched.
"We're going to be very prudent," Lightfoot said. "Indiana doesn't quite rise to that level, which is a good thing for the residents of the Hoosier state. But we're watching all of our neighbors very carefully."
Indiana began a mask mandate on Monday.
