2 states, 1 district removed from Chicago's COVID-19 travel advisory
CHICAGO - Two states and one district were removed from Chicago's weekly COVID-19 travel advisory on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Chicago removed North Carolina, Tennessee and the District of Columbia from the list because they had daily COVID case rates below 15 per 100,000 residents for the past two weeks.
The full list currently includes 40 states and two territories. Locations not listed on the advisory are: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, and the Virgin Islands.
Chicago recommends that if you have to travel to a high-risk state, you should be tested before and after and quarantine when you return home to Chicago.
"Many people are concerned about the Omicron variant and the surge in COVID cases in the Midwest, as they should be," CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. "But we have the tools to fight Omicron. Vaccines, coupled with face masks, are our best defense against COVID-19 and any new variants. If you want to travel, if you want to spend Christmas or New Year’s with loved ones, make sure you’re fully vaccinated, and if you’re already vaccinated, get your booster shots as soon as you can."
Chicago's current daily COVID case rate is at 23.2, up from 18.2 last week. Illinois' daily case rate stands at 39.2 CDPH said. The state was at 23.7 two weeks ago.