One week after it was removed from the advisory, officials returned Arkansas to the list of states with high rates of transmission. The advisory includes 38 states as well as Guam, announced Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Pfizer asked U.S. regulators Tuesday to allow boosters of its COVID-19 vaccine for anyone 18 or older, a step that comes amid concern about increased spread of the coronavirus with holiday travel and gatherings.

Chicago officials removed Arkansas from the city’s COVID-19 travel advisory Tuesday even as confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Chicago as colder weather blanketed the city. 

The advisory continues to cover 41 states as well as Guam, announced Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. 

City officials removed Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland and Mississippi from the travel order, joining Florida, Hawaii, California, Connecticut, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.

With more than half the world still not vaccinated, the virus will likely keep finding people to infect and replicating inside them for several months or years to come.  And each time a virus makes a copy of itself, a small mutation could occur. 

The advisory now covers 45 states as well as Guam and the Virgin Islands, officials said.

Hospitals in parts of the state are facing a critical shortage of available beds in their intensive care units. The highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19, combined with low vaccination rates, has created an overwhelming situation for medical providers for the last month.

Unvaccinated visitors to Chicago from 48 states as well as Washington, D.C., Guam and the Virgin Islands are urged to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for the coronavirus within 72 hours of their arrival, officials said.

COVID-19 deaths and cases in the U.S. have climbed back to where they were over the winter, wiping out months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden’s argument for his sweeping new vaccination requirements. 

The advisory now covers 48 states as well as Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands, said Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s top doctor. “This is an encouraging snapshot of the nation’s daily COVID data, but by no means can we let our guard down now,” she said.

The World Health Organization last month listed mu as a “variant of interest” because of concerns it may make vaccines and treatments less effective, though more evidence is needed. 

Chicagoans who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 should not travel, Dr. Allison Arwady announced Wednesday, as officials expanded the city’s advisory designed to stop the spread of the still-surging virus to every state and territory in the U.S.

The August job growth the government reported Friday fell far short of the sizable gains of roughly 1 million in each of the previous two months. The hiring jumps in June and July had followed widespread vaccinations that allowed the economy to fully reopen from pandemic restrictions. 

Chicago Public Schools students are scheduled to return for in-person classes Monday. But what will that return look like amid an ongoing pandemic? CPS parents join “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” for a panel discussion.

The latest surge in coronavirus cases is overwhelming many intensive care units, causing hospitals and states to run out of ICU beds in some locations. A maxed-out ICU can become a staffing and logistical nightmare.