Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area
Chicago on Tuesday added neighboring Indiana to its emergency travel order that requires travelers returning to the city from there to stay inside for two weeks because of high COVID-19 case counts. The Hoosier state’s inclusion on Chicago’s self-quarantine list was expected.
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Shelley Gavin, 55, gets a free COVID-19 test provided by Community Organized Relief Effort at I Grow Chicago in West Englewood on Aug. 31, 2020.
Starting Friday, people traveling into Chicago from Indiana, including Chicagoans who have traveled to Illinois’ eastern neighbor, to will be expected to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Violators can face a fine, though the city has taken few steps to enforce the rules and there are exceptions for essential workers.
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A worker packages a COVID-19 test swab from a client at Prism Heath Lab, 2322 W. Peterson Ave., in Chicago, on Aug. 6, 2020.
The move came as Illinois health officials announced 2,851 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 29 additional deaths, pushing the state’s death toll past 9,000.
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Workers conduct drive-thru COVID-19 testing at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Oct. 13, 2020, in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago.
It was the seventh day in a row with more than 2,600 cases. That brings the state total to 324,743 confirmed cases and 9,026 deaths. The seven-day statewide positivity rate is 4.5% for the week ending Oct. 12.

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Here’s what’s happening Wednesday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
6:55 a.m.: Challenges to Pritzker’s COVID-19 restrictions back in court
After months of maneuvering, attorneys will be in court in Sangamon County Wednesday arguing over Gov. JB Pritzker’s powers to impose controls to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.
The hearing involves multiple cases filed by attorney Thomas DeVore on behalf of clients in six counties who contend that the coronavirus pandemic is not a public health emergency under the definition of Illinois law.
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Workers prepare for a drive-thru COVID-19 testing participant at Swedish Covenant Hospital on Oct. 13, 2020, in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago.
Because of that, the lawsuits argue that Pritzker doesn’t have the authority impose restrictions like limit on businesses in order to control the spread of COVID-19.
The essentially identical lawsuits were originally filed in Edgar, Bond, Richland, Clinton, and Sangamon counties. In each case, plaintiffs want the court to declare a public health emergency does not exist and that Pritzker be barred from exercising powers under the Emergency Management Act in those counties.
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