Chicago requires Hoosiers to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival starting Friday
CHICAGO (WISH) — People traveling from Indiana to Chicago will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, according to an emergency travel order updated Tuesday.
Chicago’s order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday, according to the city’s website. On Friday, North Carolina, Rhode Island, New Mexico will also be added to the city’s list of places from which people must quarantine when arriving.
The quarantine order applies to people coming from Indiana for non-work purposes and to Chicago residents returning to the city from Indiana, unless that person is an essential worker. Exceptions to the order include travel for medical care and parental shared custody, the order says.
Travel to Indiana even for less than 24 hours will still prompt individuals to need to quarantine unless they are deemed an essential worker or a student who commutes for school.
Here’s how the order applies to Indiana, according to the city’s website:
The case levels in Indiana exceed the threshold to become one of the states on the City of Chicago’s Emergency Travel Order. This requires individuals coming from Indiana to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Chicago. This order will go into effect Friday October 16 at 12:01AM.
The Order applies to individuals arriving in Chicago, while they are in the city. The city limits are defined in this interactive map. This does not include individuals who are commuting from Indiana to Chicago for the purpose of work or school; however, such commuters are subject to the requirements below. It does include individuals coming from Indiana to Chicago for non-work or school purposes or Chicago residents returning from Indiana counties unless they are deemed an essential worker.
Individuals traveling through Indiana on their way to Chicago from a state not on the list do not need to quarantine if they were in Indiana for less than 24 hours. Individuals who travel to Indiana, even if for less than 24 hours, still need to quarantine upon returning unless deemed an essential worker.
Essential Workers Exemption
For purposes of the Order, “essential workers” are not subject to the mandatory self-quarantine if they are:
A resident of Chicago returning from Indiana who was in Indiana for the primary purpose of carrying out essential work. The essential worker must have needed to be physically present in that county in order to carry out that primary work, with identification issued by their employer.
A non-resident of Chicago, who is traveling from Indiana to Chicago for the purpose of carrying out essential work. The essential worker must need to be physically present in Chicago in order to carry out that work, with identification issued by their employer.
An essential worker whose travel is for non-work purposes is subject to the mandatory self-quarantine and is not covered by this exception. An “essential worker” is a person who works in critical infrastructure as designated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Essential worker” includes any state, local, and federal officials and employees traveling in their official capacities on government business, including military service.
Requirements for Commuters and Essential Workers
Essential workers traveling to Indiana for work purposes and commuters to Chicago from Indiana are subject to the following requirements:
They must limit their activities to work-related activities and functions that directly support their work-related activities, and avoid public spaces as much as possible.
Essential workers should monitor temperature and signs of symptoms, wear a face covering when in public, maintain social distance, and clean and disinfect workspaces.
Essential workers are required, to the extent possible, to avoid extended periods in public, contact with strangers, and large congregate settings.
Exceptions to the Order for personal travel will be permitted for travel for medical care and parental shared custody. The Commissioner of Health may additionally grant an exemption based upon an organization’s or business’ testing and other control policies or in extraordinary circumstances, which warrant an exception from mandatory quarantine, subject to the terms and conditions applied to essential workers or terms and conditions otherwise imposed by the Commissioner in the interest of public health.