CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Three new measles cases were confirmed at the migrant shelter for new arrivals in Pilsen on Tuesday, announced the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The latest cases bring the city’s total to eight in the past week. One of those cases was unrelated to the shelter. The cases represent the first time measles has been in Chicago since 2019.
“While we’re seeing new cases every day, this is not like the COVID-19 outbreak,” said CDPH Commissioner Olusimbo Ige. “The vast majority of Chicagoans are vaccinated against measles and therefore not at high risk.”
Ige added that those who are not vaccinated, though, need to take precautions. If unvaccinated individuals are exposed to measles, Ige recommended immediately quarantining and connecting with a health care provider.
“Above all else, get vaccinated so you, too, can be protected from this virus,” Ige said.
Also on Tuesday, a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) arrived in the city. Dr. Manisha Patel, with the CDC, spoke to CBS 2 about what their crews are doing.
“What the city and state have asked us to do is provide technical assistance, making sure that if they have questions about who should be vaccinated, who should be quarantined, who should be isolated — they have people on the ground providing that [information],” Patel said.
Officials said teams with Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services (DFSS) and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) have been working to relocate residents of the Pilsen shelter to designated hotel spaces and other shelter locations in order to find more suitable quarantine spaces.
Doctors have confirmed a total of 10 measles cases in Chicago and suburban Cook County. Health department representatives in DuPage, Lake and Kane Counties have told WBBM that they have no confirmed cases.
The CDPH and OEMC have maintained a “standing presence” at Chicago’s migrant landing zone, where workers have been providing vaccination for measles to individuals as they arrive in the city.
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