CHICAGO – The percentage of counties in the United States at a Medium or High COVID-19 Community Level remains over 80 percent, driven by the highly transmissible omicron subvariants BA.4/BA.5, and Cook County remains at a High COVID-19 Level, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced today.

The number of new laboratory-confirmed COVID cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days across Cook County was 247 (an increase from 217 last week, but still lower than it was two weeks ago), and the number of new weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 population was 12.6 (same as two weeks ago). The percentage of staffed inpatient beds in Cook County in use by patients with confirmed COVID-19 was 4.5 percent (same as last week).

The City’s COVID case rate per 100,000 population is 209 (205 last week), its COVID hospitalization rate per 100,000 population is 4.9 (down from 5.6 last week), and the percentage of hospital beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 is 4.7 (4.1 last week).

"The COVID-19 story remains largely unchanged from last week: the highly contagious omicron subvariants BA.4/BA.5 are leading to significant transmission and cases in Chicago, but because of vaccination, our hospitalization rate and serious illness and deaths continue to remain low,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D. “I encourage residents to enjoy the great weather and socialize outdoors, but when indoors in large groups, its best to wear a mask. Most importantly, make sure everyone is up to date with vaccine boosters. It’s never been easier to get a vaccine or booster with our Protect Chicago At Home Program: we will bring vaccine to your whole family—everyone aged 6 months and up.”

To make an at home vaccination appointment, call (312) 746-4835 or register at chicago.gov/athome. Appointments are available 4 days a week, Saturday through Tuesday – 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m, and everyone 6 months old and up is eligible. Those age 5 and older may be eligible for a $50 gift card through August 30 while supplies last. Everyone who receives a booster dose may receive a gift card regardless of where they live; those receiving a first or second dose are eligible for a gift card if they live in one of the following zip codes: 60608, 60612, 60617, 60619, 60620, 60621, 60624, 60628, 60633, 60636, 60637, 60644, 60649, 60651, and 60653, as well as Chicago residents who live in 60827 and 60707.

Based on the latest data from CDC, Cook County levels are as follows.

The CDC determines COVID-19 Community Levels as Low, Medium, or High, based on the number of new local COVID-19 cases, regional COVID-19 hospital admissions, and COVID-19 hospital capacity in the prior week. The Levels were developed to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest local COVID-19 data.

When the CDC updates its COVID-19 Community Levels national map each week, the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County data are combined into one weekly case metric for Cook County. Hospitalization data, in contrast, reflect a burden on the whole federally defined Health Service Area, which includes hospitals in Cook, Lake, DuPage, and McHenry counties.

CDPH also continues to track and report COVID-19 hospital burden specifically for Chicago hospitals every day on its dashboard and uses this local hospital data to make further mitigation decisions. Visit chi.gov/coviddash for the Chicago COVID-19 daily data dashboard.

COVID-19 Community Levels in the U.S. by County

Nationwide, over 81 percent of United States counties are at either the Medium or High Level. Only five of Illinois’ 102 counties are at a Low COVID-19 Level (last week was eight), with the rest Medium or High. Travelers should review CDPH’s travel guidance and check the CDC map to know whether areas they are visiting are Low, Medium, or High risk for COVID-19 and take proper precautions.

For additional COVID-19 news, see CDPH’s weekly update or visit Chicago.gov/COVID.

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