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Illinois hospitals filling fast amid latest COVID-19 surge
Local hospitals are filling fast as this latest COVID surge lands more patients in the hospital. Illinois' governor has ordered hospitals to push back elective surgeries until the surge is over.
Chicago - Chicago health officials added Montana and Guam to the city's COVID-19 Travel Advisory on Wednesday, meaning every state and U.S. territory are now on the list.
In order to be removed from the advisory, a state or territory must have a daily COVID case rate below 15 per 100,000 residents for two straight weeks.
The nation's average daily case rate per 100,000 residents is currently at 148.1, up from 62.2 last week.
In Illinois, the current daily case rate has risen from 87.1 last week to 182.1 this week. Chicago's daily case rate also jumped from 140.3 one week ago to 169.7 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.
"COVID is very real, it’s merciless, and unless you are fully vaccinated, your defenses against it are pretty low," CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. "You can only fully fight this virus if you’re vaccinated. The evidence is overwhelming – if you are fully vaccinated and you do get COVID-19, there’s very little chance you will get so ill that you require hospitalization. Your chances aren’t nearly as good if you remain unvaccinated."
Vaccinated travelers do not need to be tested or quarantine if they traveled domestically.
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Illinois hospitals flooded with COVID patients
Illinois hospital beds are filling up with more COVID-19 patients than at any other point in the pandemic — prompting fears of employee burnout amid staffing shortages.