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Illinois Orders Mandatory Ebola Quarantine for Certain Travelers

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An Office of Field Operations Officer conducts an interview with a passenger at Washington Dulles International Airport
An Office of Field Operations Officer conducts an interview with a passenger arriving from either Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia at Washington Dulles International Airport on Oct. 16, 2014.Reuters
By Nolan Feeney

People in Illinois who have had direct contact with an Ebola patient in certain African countries must now undergo a quarantine for 21 days.

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed an order on Friday that affects medical workers and other “high-risk” travelers who have been around Ebola patients in Sierra Leone, Guinea or Liberia, the Chicago Tribune reports.

“This protective measure is too important to be voluntary,” he said in a statement. “While we have no confirmed cases of the Ebola virus in Illinois, we will continue to take every safeguard necessary to protect first responders, health care workers and the people of Illinois.”

Similar orders, which exceed federal recommendations, are in effect in New York and New Jersey for travelers landing in New York City-area airports, including Newark in New Jersey.

[Chicago Tribune]

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com