CHICAGO (CBS) — While COVID cases and hospitalizations are down slightly in Chicago, the city’s top doctor still wants people not to travel throughout the United States.
Doctor Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said the city’s travel zone grid showing what states have elevated numbers of COVID cases has gone from a three color system — with red, orange and yellow zones — to now a two-tier system with orange and yellow zones, which as of Tuesday has most of the United States in the orange zone. Only Hawaii is doing well with containing the number of coronavirus cases, putting it in the yellow zone.
“Except for the state of Hawaii, which is the only state in the U.S. that arguably is in excellent control of COVID, every other state, we are advising avoiding travel,” Arwady said. “But if people travel, upon return to Chicago or arrival in Chicago, they either have the choice of a 10-day quarantine or a getting a pre-arrival, negative test within 72 hours and then for those 10 days in Chicago, obviously strict masking social distancing avoiding unnecessary gatherings.”
Arwady said numbers in the city have declined some, but she said that Chicago is not in a good place in terms of case numbers.
“We are currently averaging just over 1,000 new cases in Chicago residents per day, while down from the 2,400 new cases per day that we were averaging in November, but well above the 400 new cases per day, which is where we’d like to be and where we were over the summer,” Arwady said. “Our goal here is the city ideally would be under 5% positivity. We’re currently at 10.3% test positivity in Chicago residents.”
Arwady said the change was made to be more in line with CDC guidance connected to travel as well as the availability of more COVID testing opportunities.
The head of the CDPH said the vaccine rollout continues, with healthcare workers at the head of the line to get a COVID vaccine. Arwady acknowledged that not every healthcare worker in the city has gotten the COVID vaccine, and it’s possible others, including essential workers, will be vaccinated soon.

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