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After months of not having any traveler advisories, Chicago decided to reinstate travel restrictions. As of Wednesday, July 20, 2021, any unvaccinated person from Missouri, Arkansas, Nevada, Florida, Louisianna, and the U.S. Virgin Islands must provide a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before arriving in the city or quarantine for 10 days after arrival. Each recently passed the city’s threshold of 15 daily cases per 100,000 residents. As more states pass the threshold, they may be added to the list.
Vaccination Push
With so many unvaccinated people, cases have continued to rise. Arizona, Oklahoma, and Utah cases are near Chicago’s threshold. Not to mention that cases in Southern Illinois are also on the rise.
This is largely due to many people under the age of 40 being unvaccinated. As a result, 97 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations at the moment are unvaccinated people. Moreover, 95 percent of the recent deaths from the virus have also been unvaccinated people.
Additionally, doctors are trying to encourage more people to get vaccinated to avoid more deaths and hospitalizations.
Nationwide Surge In Cases
The COVID-19 Delta variant is taking the world by storm. Delta is now the most dominant strain across the world.
In fact, 58 percent of cases in the United States are due to people infected with the Delta variant and spreading it to other people. The difference between vaccinated people and those who are not is that vaccinated people are recovering far faster.
With the new surge in cases and so many people unvaccinated, this pandemic is quickly becoming an issue of who is and is not vaccinated. If more people do not get vaccinated, soon everyone will be back in quarantine.
Written by Reginae Echols
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
WebMD: Travel Restrictions Are Back in Chicago; by Carolyn Crist
City of Chicago: Travel Advisory
Featured Image Courtesy of Michael Kappel’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Presidencia de la República Mexicana’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License