COVID-19 Recommendations: Suburban Cook County Joins Chicago

ILLINOIS — Any person entering Suburban Cook County living in a high-incidence state for COVID-19 is now being asked to quarantine for 14 days after arriving. The new recommendation from the Cook County Department of Public Health was announced Friday. The City of Chicago already has the measure in place.

The 17 states that currently fall under these guidelines are: Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Idaho, Alabama, Nevada, Tennessee, California, Arkansas, Utah, North Carolina, Iowa and Oklahoma.

The guidance excludes the City of Evanston and the Village of Skokie, according to a press release from the Cook County Department of Public Health.

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"While Cook County, including Chicago and suburbs, and Illinois have seen steep declines in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, other parts of the country are seeing a surge in new cases, and the country overall, is setting new highs for daily COVID-19 cases," the press release reads.

The recommendation also extends to those who have visited the high-incidence state for more than 24 hours.

High-incidence states, according to the CCDPH are those that have new case rates greater than 15 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 resident population per day, over a 7-day rolling average. The list of states meeting this definition is updated every Tuesday. The list will be posted to the websites of the local health departments issuing this guidance.

Essential workers with verification from their employer, and those traveling for medical care or parental custody are exempt from these recommendations. Essential workers are defined as any person who works in critical infrastructure as designated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. These workers include any state, local, and federal officials and employees traveling in their official capacities on government business, including military service.

For more information, visit cookcountypublichealth.org.