Live updates: Omicron Variant in Chicago

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tested positive today for COVID-19. A statement from her office says she feels fine, but has “cold-like” symptoms.

Lightfoot got vaccinated during a public press conference last January and her office says she is boosted. She plans to work from home and follow CDC guidelines for isolating.

The news comes one day after the mayor struck a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union that would allow for students to return to schools for in-person learning.

Lightfoot has done several one-on-one interviews with reporters, many of them virtual, and held three late night press conferences in-person over the past week to address the ongoing negotiations.

It is not clear if anyone else in her office or other people she came in close contact with are also being quarantined.

At the start of the pandemic, Lightfoot urged city residents to “stay home and save lives” and issued a series of restrictions to bend the curve. She instituted the city’s mask mandate and implemented a requirement that city workers be vaccinated. Chicago also now requires proof of vaccination for indoor public spaces.

In announcing her positive test, Lightfoot urged people to get vaccinated and boosted.

“It’s the only way to beat this pandemic,” the statement said.