Chicago mayor tests positive for COVID-19

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) announced on Tuesday that she tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19. 

“Earlier today, I tested positive for COVID-19. I am experiencing cold-like symptoms but otherwise feel fine which I credit to being vaccinated and boosted,” Lightfoot said in a tweet. “I will continue to work from home while following the CDC guidelines for isolation.”

“This is an urgent reminder for folks to get vaccinated and boosted as it’s the only way to beat this pandemic,” she added in another tweet. 

Lightfoot’s infection comes just one day before Chicago’s schools are set to reopen after the city’s teachers union voted to work remotely rather than in-person, leading to a teacher walkout and four days of cancellations. 

Lightfoot had previously condemned the teachers’ actions, calling the walkout “illegal.”

“What the Chicago Teachers Union did was an illegal walk-out. They abandoned their posts and they abandoned kids and their families,” Lightfoot said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” 

“We know that the safest place for kids to be is in-person learning in schools. And we’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars to make our schools safe. They are safe. We’ve got the data to demonstrate that,” the mayor added.

Meanwhile, Chicago currently has a daily case average of 4,793, down 8 percent from last week, according to data from the city.