The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is revamping its Emergency Travel Order to better reflect the changing nature of the pandemic and provide more specific guidance to travelers entering or returning to the city amid a surge in COVID-19 cases locally and nationally. Under the new system, states will be placed in three categories – red, orange and yellow – based on the status of the outbreak in the states and how the data compares to the situation in Chicago. Previously, states with more than 15 new COVID cases per day, per 100,000 population automatically went on the quarantine list, requiring visitors and Chicagoans returning from these states to quarantine for 14 days. The new guidance is as follows:

• Yellow: States with a rolling 7-day average less than 15 cases/day/100k residents.

• No quarantine or pre-arrival test required. Maintain strict masking, social distancing and avoidance of in-person gatherings

• Orange: States have a rolling 7-day average between 15 cases/day/100k residents and the Chicago rolling 7-day average (currently 60) 

• 14-day quarantine OR pre-arrival negative test no more than 72 hours before arrival in Chicago with strict masking, social distancing and avoidance of in-person gatherings

• Red: States have a higher 7-day rolling average of positive cases/day/100k Chicago residents. 

• 14-day quarantine 

The new guidance will go into effect on Friday, November 13, 2020, at 12:01 a.m., and it will be updated every two weeks, although this initial version will be updated after one week to get on a two-week cycle that will avoid conflict with the Thanksgiving weekend. Regardless of category, people are urged to avoid non-essential travel and to follow standard COVID-19 mitigation practices such as wearing a mask, washing hands frequently, and social distancing.