Chicago and Cook County both remain in a “low community level” for the spread of COVID-19 — meaning the risk of contracting the virus is low.

But public health officials say what’s also low is the number of doses being administered of the new bivalent booster, formulated to counter the omicron subvariants of the virus.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said hospitalizations remain a point of some concern in the city.

There are more than 20 new hospitalizations for COVID-19 each day in Chicago, she said.

“We are unfortunately starting to see that number tick up just a bit,” Arwady said. “So we are at a low level, we are happy about that, but it’s a combination of just COVID has been relatively quiet through the summer but now that we’re heading into colder weather we’re watching closely.”

She also added that the subvariants still prevalent fall under the omicron, meaning the fall booster now available is critical heading into the winter.