For the first time since the start of the year, the entire country is no longer on Chicago’s travel advisory for unvaccinated people.
Maryland was removed Wednesday, meaning there are now 48 states and four territories on the list of states from which unvaccinated travelers are urged to take extra COVID-19 precautions. Illinois is not included in the list because officials do not want to restrict intrastate travel.
The last time there was at least one state not on the travel advisory was the first week of January.
Children under age 5 are exempt because they are not yet eligible for the coronavirus vaccine, but the adults they are traveling with must be inoculated or quarantine.
“Though one state has come off our advisory, and Chicago and Illinois now have our lowest daily COVID-19 case rates in months, the virus is still with us, in Chicago and around the country,” Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “The fact remains that nearly every state or territory is on the advisory.”
The advisory’s latest guidance calls for unvaccinated people to test for COVID-19 one to three days before leaving Chicago and three to five days after they return to the city. They must also quarantine for five days upon coming back to Chicago regardless of the test result.
States get on the travel advisory if they track more than 15 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents. Three more states and three territories could get off the list next week, as they have already dipped below that threshold.
Meanwhile, Illinois’ daily case rate is at 13.5 per 100,000 residents, while Chicago’s is 10.3. The city has fared well in recent weeks with COVID-19 metrics, allowing for Tuesday’s announcement that Chicago can follow the state in lifting its mask mandate next week.
The most recent city data shows an average of 278 cases per day and a positivity rate of 1.5%.