Dr. Allison Arwady, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks at a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in Chicago.
UPDATE: Nearly every U.S. state, with the exception of one, is now on Chicago's travel advisory, the city's top doctor announced Tuesday, adding changes to the policy for travelers visiting "high-risk" locations. Read more here.
Chicago's top doctor is set to deliver a COVID-19 update for the city Tuesday afternoon.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady is scheduled to "provide an update on COVID-19 case data and vaccinations and the city’s response to the pandemic," including an update to the city's travel advisory.
She is also expected to announce the launch of a new website with mental health resources and support.
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The announcement is slated for 1 p.m. Tuesday and can be watched live in the player above.
Chicago updates its travel advisory every Tuesday, announcing which states, if any, will be added to or removed from its list recommending that unvaccinated travelers test negative for COVID-19 or quarantine upon arrival.
Last week, the city added four states to that list, including Maryland, South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado.
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The addition brought the total number of states on the advisory to 43 states, along with two territories.
Earlier this month, the city announced an indoor mask mandate for all individuals 2 years and older, regardless of vaccination status. That mandate began on Aug. 20.
“People are concerned about these increases in COVID cases, as they should be,” Arwady said in a statement at the time. “But the number one thing you can do to stop the spread of COVID is to get vaccinated and talk about vaccinations with your family and friends. Vaccinations are the greatest and most effective tool we have to fight COVID. No Chicagoan should be unable to get a vaccination."
Tuesday's update comes at a time when the average daily number of new cases in Chicago is up to 473 per day - a 2% increase over the previous week.
That figure is also more than 12 times the low of 34 that 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 29% from last week and deaths are down 31% from the week prior, per the city's data. The positivity rate in testing is down to 4.4% this week, a drop from 4.5% last week.
Arwady noted earlier this month that about 99% of new COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are among unvaccinated individuals.
