Chicago updates COVID travel quarantine order with California, Iowa among states added to yellow tier

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago announced an update to the city's COVID-19 travel order Tuesday with nine states moving to the yellow tier.

The nine states moving from the orange to the yellow tier are California, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, and West Virginia. Meanwhile, Texas and Nebraska have moved from the yellow to the orange tier.

Travelers from states in the orange tier must either quarantine for 10 days or test negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of arrival. Travelers from yellow states do not need to quarantine or test before arrival.

Travelers who have been fully vaccinated and do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or test negative.

States and territories in yellow category: Michigan, Iowa, Idaho, Minnesota, Ohio, Mississippi, Montana, West Virginia, Maryland, Maine, New Mexico, Indiana, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada, Kansas, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Wyoming, Missouri, Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.

States and territories in orange category: New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Connecticut, Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, Vermont, Kentucky, Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Alaska, District of Columbia, Utah, Nebraska, Virginia, and New Hampshire

A state in the yellow tier has less than 15 daily cases per 100,000 people. States in the orange tier have more than 15 cases per 100,000 people.

Essential workers are exempt from the travel order. The city recommends canceling all non-essential travel to stop the spread of COVID-19. Other exemptions include travel for medical care, parental shared custody and passing through a state for less than 24 hours.

The updated travel order will take effect on Friday. The order is updated every other Tuesday.

The video in the story is from a previous report