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Chicago Travel Advisory: California, Mississippi added to list as COVID-19 case rates climb nationwide

By FOX 32 Digital Staff
Published  December 14, 2021 11:21am CST
Coronavirus in Chicago
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CHICAGO - Two states have been added to Chicago's COVID-19 Travel Advisory as daily case rates continue to climb nationwide.

Public health officials announced Tuesday that California and Mississippi were added after their daily COVID-19 case rates rose above 15 per 100,000 residents. The advisory now stands at 42 states.

"This week’s data is not surprising to anyone who has been tracking it day-to-day, as we have at CDPH," said CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady "The highest COVID rates are currently in the Midwest and New England, but this week two warm weather states – California and Mississippi – are back on the advisory."

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As of Tuesday, every state and territory except Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas and the Virgin Islands were on the list.

No states were eligible to be removed from the city's travel advisory this week. States can be removed from the list if their daily case rates remain below 15 per 100,000 for two consecutive weeks.

COVID-19 testing

FILE - A health worker tests passengers for the COVID-19.

The nation's average daily case rate per 100,000 residents is currently at 35.2, up from 31.3 last week.

In Illinois, the current daily case rate has risen dramatically from 39.2 last week to 56.0 this week. Chicago's daily case rate also jumped from 23.2 one week ago to 33.8 this week.

City health officials continue to remind unvaccinated travelers that they should be tested for COVID-19 before and after travel from any state on this advisory list and should quarantine when they arrive back in Chicago.

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"Don’t assume you’ll be fine if you travel someplace warmer than the Midwest," Arwady said. "The only way to ensure you’re protected as well as you can be, is to be fully vaccinated and wear a mask when you’re around other people in public."

Vaccinated travelers do not need to be tested or quarantine if they traveled domestically.