Chicago's travel advisory was slated to be updated Tuesday afternoon, but city health officials said a delay in data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention due to the long holiday weekend has delayed the city's update.
"Our weekly COVID Travel Advisory is delayed this week because updated CDC COVID data wasn't available late Monday because of the federal holiday," the department posted on social media. "Once the most recent data is available, the travel advisory will be updated later today (Oct. 12) or Wednesday (Oct. 13)."
The advisory, updated weekly, dropped last week to 47 states and three territories, as Connecticut was removed from the city's warning list, officials announced.
The city's health department said Connecticut saw its daily case rate drop below the threshold for being on the travel advisory and stay below that threshold for two straight weeks.
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Connecticut, California and Puerto Rico were the only locations not on the city's advisory during the last update. Officials noted, however, that the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and Louisiana were close to coming off the list.
States are added to the advisory's "orange list" when COVID metrics rise above the threshold of 15 cases per day per 100,000 people. Any below that mark are on the "yellow" list, with public health officials still warning against non-essential travel.
“If you are traveling, whether you are vaccinated or unvaccinated – especially if you are unvaccinated – please do not take COVID lightly,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a statement. “We still have a long way to go before we can all confidently travel safely throughout the country. COVID is a threat to everyone – but the threat is reduced tremendously if you are vaccinated.”
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States and territories currently on the advisory include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia, Guam and the Virgin Islands.
Just before the Labor Day, the city updated its guidance for what unvaccinated travelers visiting or returning from such locations should do, adding new testing and quarantining recommendations before and after travel.
According to the city, before travel, unvaccinated individuals should:
- Get tested 3-5 days prior to departure.
While traveling:
- ALL individuals regardless of vaccination status should wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States and while indoors at U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations.
- In Chicago, wear a mask in all indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status.
- Avoid crowds, try to stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who is not traveling with you, and wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol).
After travel, unvaccinated individuals should:
- Get tested with a viral test 3-5 days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full 7 days.
- Even if you test negative, stay home and self-quarantine for the full 7 days.
- If your test is positive, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.
- If you don’t get tested, stay home and self-quarantine for 10 days after travel.
- Avoid being around people who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days, whether you get tested or not.
The city advised all travelers to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate and get tested if they develop any after travel.
"We have seen and know that travel is a significant risk factor for acquiring COVID," Arwady said. "If you decide not to get tested, the recommendation is actually to stay home and self quarantine for 10 days after travel, and you should avoid being around anybody who has an increased risk for severe COVID outcomes for 14 days after travel regardless of whether you get tested or not. Obviously we want anybody who's traveling to self monitor for COVID symptoms and get tested if you develop symptoms."
This week's update to the travel advisory comes at a time when the average daily number of new cases in Chicago is down to 352 per day - remaining flat from the previous week.
That figure is still much higher than the low of 34 the city saw in late June but remains lower than the more than 700 cases per day the city was seeing during the most recent surge earlier this year.
Hospitalizations in Chicago are down 16% from the previous week, and deaths are down 46% from the week prior, per the city's data. The positivity rate in testing is down to 2.2% this week, a drop from 2.3% in the last week.
Arwady noted last month that about 99% of new COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated individuals.
The travel advisory is updated every Tuesday, with any changes taking effect the following Friday.
