CHICAGO (CBS) — You might want to rethink your plans to head to the Wisconsin Dells or to go apple picking in Door County this weekend, as Wisconsin is heading back onto the list of states covered by Chicago’s 14-day quarantine order.
Wisconsin, Montana, Idaho, Minnesota, and Puerto Rico will be added to the list on Friday, after their average COVID-19 caseload rose to more than 15 new cases per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period.
The full list of states included in the order, effective Friday, includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and Wisconsin.
“You’ll note that all of the states and territories that are added today are states that have previously been on the list had improved to the point where they were able to be removed, and then have had a resurgence of infection and are therefore put back on the list,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said.
(Source: Chicago Department of Public Health)
Meantime, Kentucky and Louisiana have been removed from the list after their average number of cases fell below 15 new cases per 100,000 for more than a week.
Wisconsin was first put on the list in late July, but was removed in mid-August, after getting its virus rate back under the threshold for Chicago’s emergency travel order.
Arwady said cases in Wisconsin have been skyrocketing recently, with the average number of daily cases up more than 130% in the past two weeks, and the average seven-day positivity rate now at more than 15%.
“Unfortunately, Wisconsin is currently in very poor control when it comes to COVID,” Arwady said.
Chicago’s quarantine mandate requires anyone who is arriving in the city from states considered to be COVID-19 hot spots to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 days when they arrive in the city, including visitors to Chicago, and residents who are returning from travel to one of the states. The list of states included in the order is updated weekly to include states with more than 15 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 resident population, per day, over a 7-day rolling average.
Enforcement is almost entirely on the honor system, however.
This is a developing story…
