Chicago Travel Order - 14 day quarantine

[SarahZ]

What have been some of your experiences doing a 24 hour "quarantine" in a Chicago hotel in recent times?

I've never done a true quarantine, but I've taken many trips to Chicago where I just holed up in my room for a couple days so I could get some work done while also feeling like I was on vacation.

Many of the hotels have a fridge in the room now. If it doesn't come standard, you can usually request it (particularly with the larger properties, like Hilton).

I often stop at one of the many CVS/Walgreens and pick up some groceries. Most of them have a large selection of fresh sandwiches, salads, fruit, and snacks like celery with peanut butter, pretzels and hummus, etc. I love Chicago's restaurants, but three meals per day adds up pretty quickly.

Also, the front desk may have a list of places that deliver. I've found that to be pretty common in every place I've stayed. If they don't have a list, I've found that the desk clerks usually have a pretty strong opinion about the best place to order from.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

We've got a trip booked coming up this fall which includes two overnights in Chicago (We avoid same-day connections). Being we're from one of the states on Chicago's "naughty" list we expect we will have to hole-up in the hotel for the night satisfy the city's self-quarantine requirement

I've yet to speak with the hotel to verify the availability of food and other services. It varies from pretty good to little or nothing!

The time is approaching to make a final go/no-go decision. I still have time to bail out and get my points back (6 trains) and cancel half a dozen hotel reservations while I can without penalty.

What have been some of your experiences doing a 24 hour "quarantine" in a Chicago hotel in recent times?

Thanks, John

You don’t have to cancel by 8/31 - that is the BOOKED BY date, not a cancel by date.

 

[TinCan782]

You don’t have to cancel by 8/31 - that is the BOOKED BY date, not a cancel by date.

Thanks. I didn't say I have to cancel by 8/31.
The trip is this fall...I can cancel up to a day or so before the trip. Same with my hotels and car rental.

 

[TinCan782]

I've never done a true quarantine, but I've taken many trips to Chicago where I just holed up in my room for a couple days so I could get some work done while also feeling like I was on vacation.

Many of the hotels have a fridge in the room now. If it doesn't come standard, you can usually request it (particularly with the larger properties, like Hilton).

I often stop at one of the many CVS/Walgreens and pick up some groceries. Most of them have a large selection of fresh sandwiches, salads, fruit, and snacks like celery with peanut butter, pretzels and hummus, etc. I love Chicago's restaurants, but three meals per day adds up pretty quickly.

Also, the front desk may have a list of places that deliver. I've found that to be pretty common in every place I've stayed. If they don't have a list, I've found that the desk clerks usually have a pretty strong opinion about the best place to order from.

Thanks Sarah. I've done that before in "normal" times and made use of the fridge in the room. By the letter of the order, we cannot leave the hotel until we leave for good (next day). Of course, its probably likely we could get away with it!

 

[IndyLions]

New York and Massachusetts have a much more severe order in place than Chicago, as far as I can tell.

I was just in Massachusetts for a couple of days dropping my daughter at college and had to effectively quarantine while I was there. However, there was no enforcement that prevented me from leaving the hotel to get food. I doubt there will be any in Chicago either.

The risk is similar to speeding. You could get “caught” and significantly fined. The reality is that if you are being a responsible person, wearing a mask, and not flaunting social convention during a pandemic then you will probably be fine. The local authorities have a lot more important things to do than stop people on the street apparently acting responsibly and ask them for their “papers”. This isn’t WWII era Germany.

 

[basketmaker]

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/covid-19/home/emergency-travel-order.html
Additional info provided here:
https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoMay...EunLnrZ09M54ic_ylsuKsiOjl_JIVIUDoOLkDi51D0X8M

Boy.... They are right up-to-date July 2nd?

 

[basketmaker]

Yes we have to get a new one every year because of different strains, but it is still by definition a vaccine.

Got mine last Wednesday.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Boy.... They are right up-to-date July 2nd?

I posted it on July 2nd, so it was up-to-date when I posted it.

 

[Trogdor]

Boy.... They are right up-to-date July 2nd?

The very first line when I click the emergency travel order link says “Updated as of 8/20/2020”

 

[west point]

Got my flu shot yesterday. My arm already hurts more this time than other year's shots. (about 7 hours after ) To me that means that this year's strains are more likely to be strong. I am glad that my arm hurts as it probably means I will be immune to just those flu strains. Now if I get Covid-19 the flu will not piggyback at the same time.

 

[Seaboard92]

The other option you can do if you want to avoid taking a risk on quarantine in Chicago proper is get a Metra train somewhere outside of the city. Franklin Park is it's own city and it doesn't have a quarantine. On my last layover I went out to Franklin Park for the duration and enjoyed the planes and the trains.

Or you can go out to Ogden Dunes out on South Shore Line. Enjoy Lake Michigan, and take the train back the next day when its time to leave.

 

[MARC Rider]

The other option you can do if you want to avoid taking a risk on quarantine in Chicago proper is get a Metra train somewhere outside of the city. Franklin Park is it's own city and it doesn't have a quarantine. On my last layover I went out to Franklin Park for the duration and enjoyed the planes and the trains.

Or you can go out to Ogden Dunes out on South Shore Line. Enjoy Lake Michigan, and take the train back the next day when its time to leave.

The obvious place to stay is Rosemont. A stop on the Blue Line El, a Metra station (though infrequent service), close to O'Hare, and tons of hotels.

Are there hotels within walking distance of the Ogden Dunes station?

It seems to me that there are so many exceptions and loopholes, I wonder how effective this travel restriction is. I suspect, like the ones in New England, it just discourages a certain number of people from traveling, which, in itself, reduces risk.

 

[Seaboard92]

The obvious place to stay is Rosemont. A stop on the Blue Line El, a Metra station (though infrequent service), close to O'Hare, and tons of hotels.

Are there hotels within walking distance of the Ogden Dunes station?

It seems to me that there are so many exceptions and loopholes, I wonder how effective this travel restriction is. I suspect, like the ones in New England, it just discourages a certain number of people from traveling, which, in itself, reduces risk.

I'm not sure either but definitely in nearby Michigan City, IN.

 

[IndyLions]

Another possible option IF you can make the Amtrak schedule work is New Buffalo MI or Saint Joseph MI.

Those are both terrific Lake Michigan resort towns - great places to spend a day or two if the train schedules can work.

Much more expensive than a suburban hotel, but real destinations to be sure.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

There is essentially no enforcement of the quarantine in Chicago and while there are signs in Union Station, they are easy to miss and don't list the states. I just got off the SWC today and there were no announcements about the quarantine and few passengers were aware. Honestly if you behave responsibly and don't excessively post your activities on social media no one will notice. Having said that, you could also go to the suburbs as mentioned. Rosemont has a lot of hotels and is on the Blue Line, but there aren't a whole lot of attractions there. Oak Park and Evanston are also nice options that would have more to do. Both are on CTA rail lines and have frequent Metra service.

 

[HenryK]

I live in Evanston. Please don't come up here. Keep your bugs to yourself.
Just kidding. Sort of. Evanston is a university town (Northwestern) and is liberal and well-educated, hence pretty good with the masking and distancing, and our covid rate is low now.

 

[Skyline]

I live in Evanston. Please don't come up here. Keep your bugs to yourself.
Just kidding. Sort of. Evanston is a university town (Northwestern) and is liberal and well-educated, hence pretty good with the masking and distancing, and our covid rate is low now.

Good to hear masking, social distancing, etc is working well there. I wish more people where I live (rural Trump Country Virginia) would learn from you. About 20% of the customers at our local WalMart, super market, CVS, etc. are not masking up and no one has the guts to tell them to leave. We do not have the Covid numbers they have in big cities but proportionately we have more than we otherwise would, including a wide deadly outbreak at a nursing home.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Good to hear masking, social distancing, etc is working well there. I wish more people where I live (rural Trump Country Virginia) would learn from you. About 20% of the customers at our local WalMart, super market, CVS, etc. are not masking up and no one has the guts to tell them to leave. We do not have the Covid numbers they have in big cities but proportionately we have more than we otherwise would, including a wide deadly outbreak at a nursing home.

Vote Blue for me and you!

 

[TinCan782]

Thanks for the input everyone. I spoke with a person at the front desk of our hotel. She didn't think the "quarantine" it would be a problem. Actually what I'm finding (not only Chicago) is that hotels are reducing, or even closing, on-site restaurant service including room service. Seeing that our stay (actually twice) is only overnight, we can cover the food situation adequately. Unfortunately, a couple of our favorite restaurants are also closed.

 

[dlagrua]

On our trip to Whitefish Montana/Glacier earlier this this month the passengers were about 70% Amish/Hitterite and less than half of them were wearing masks. In Whitefish everyone was masking up, many at our hotel, but when we went on a road trip seldom you saw a person with a mask. I guess with the Covid alarm and the places we have gone to, we should be dead by now, but we are both in perfect health.

 

[Bob Dylan]

On our trip to Whitefish Montana/Glacier earlier this this month the passengers were about 70% Amish/Hitterite and less than half of them were wearing masks. In Whitefish everyone was masking up, many at our hotel, but when we went on a road trip seldom you saw a person with a mask. I guess with the Covid alarm and the places we have gone to, we should be dead by now, but we are both in perfect health.

Be careful, it's a Jungle out there, and you're playing Russian Roulette with 6 Bullets in the Gun when you are around strangers.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Be careful, it's a Jungle out there, and you're playing Russian Roulette with 6 Bullets in the Gun when you are around strangers.

Why be careful? If he wants to keep testing his fate thats on him. It's not like you're going to talk him out of it.

 

[Shanghai]

Our daughter and grandchildren flew from San Francisco to Orlando to escape the California fires (smoke)
and I was quite surprised there were no mention or filing requirements of quarantines upon arrival.

 

[pennyk]

Our daughter and grandchildren flew from San Francisco to Orlando to escape the California fires (smoke)
and I was quite surprised there were no mention or filing requirements of quarantines upon arrival.

Arrivals in Florida no longer have to quarantine, however, we Floridians are not welcome in many places.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Our daughter and grandchildren flew from San Francisco to Orlando to escape the California fires (smoke)
and I was quite surprised there were no mention or filing requirements of quarantines upon arrival.

Glad your family and you are doing good down in the Sunshine State ****. Hows Archie doing?