Chicago Adds Puerto Rico To Its Quarantine List

The territory of Puerto Rico is added to a list of 22 states from which visitors to or from Chicago have to quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks in Chicago
Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks to reporters on March 24, 2020. On Tuesday, she announced that travelers to or from Puerto Rico will need to quarantine once arriving in Chicago. Tyler LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool
Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks in Chicago
Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks to reporters on March 24, 2020. On Tuesday, she announced that travelers to or from Puerto Rico will need to quarantine once arriving in Chicago. Tyler LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP, Pool

Chicago Adds Puerto Rico To Its Quarantine List

The territory of Puerto Rico is added to a list of 22 states from which visitors to or from Chicago have to quarantine due to COVID-19 concerns.

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Puerto Rico is the latest addition to Chicago’s mandatory quarantine order.

Anyone who travels to or from Puerto Rico will be asked to self-quarantine for two weeks or face potential fines, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday.

The territory was added to 22 states under the city’s order, which officials say applies to any place with at least 15 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people.

But three states on Chicago’s quarantine list — Kansas, Iowa and Utah — have had lower rates recently, and could be removed if they maintain lower counts for another week, Arwady said.

Arwady said Chicago’s case rate has been increasing slowly in recent weeks, up to an average of 273 cases per day. (That average is as of July 29, according to the city’s website, which includes a reporting lag.) The city is concerned if that average number gets above 400. Arwady said that the most common cases of spread in Chicago right now are not in so-called congregate settings, like nursing homes or jails, but have been in homes or during close gatherings with family and friends.

Claudia Morell covers City Hall for WBEZ. Follow her @claudiamorell.