If Chicago reaches a “high” COVID alert level from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the city will issue a mask advisory, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday, just ahead of the holiday weekend.
The CDC is expected to release its updated community levels Thursday evening. Last week, Chicago and Cook County were under a “medium” risk.
“As of last week, Chicago and Cook County remain in the medium COVID-19 community level, according to the metrics that we follow from the CDC,” Lightfoot said. “Cases, as many of you have already heard, are on the rise in our city and nationwide. And we expect to reach the high level soon, perhaps as early as this week, or next. And if we do, we won’t be alone. For example, other big cities such as New York City, and Los Angeles already went too high, and 43 counties in Illinois reached the high level last week. If and when Chicago and Cook County reached the high level, we will issue a mask advisory.”
The advisory means the city will be “asking all Chicagoans age 2 and older to wear masks in indoor public settings.”
“Not only will this protect you, but it will also protect those around you – including some of our most vulnerable older residents, and those with compromised immune systems – preventing the spread of COVID now will also protect our health care system from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases.”
Chicago’s top doctor had been predicting a transition to a “high” alert level for days.
“I do think it is likely that in the next short amount of time here, we probably will move to a high COVID level. And last week, 9 percent of counties did report high COVID levels, many of those are large cities where we have density and we have good testing,” Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday.
While COVID-19 cases have steadily risen in recent weeks, Arwady has also drawn heightened attention to the current influenza outbreak in the region.
“This is not all just COVID. With influenza, we’re having a record breaking year for this point in the year. It’s very unusual for us to be seeing as much flu here in Chicago, Illinois and across the U.S. in December,” Arwady said.
Arwady added that in most years, influenza peaks in the Chicago area and nationwide in January and February, making the extent of the significant early presence of the virus a concern for public health experts.
The concern is especially notable right now among children, with hospitals reaching a “crisis point” roughly two weeks ago due to this season’s persistent RSV outbreak. According to Arwady, pediatric beds were nearly completely full at Lurie Children’s Hospital and other nearby pediatric units.
Although flu season is in full swing, Arwady said it is certainly not too late to get a flu shot, while encouraging those who are eligible and have yet to receive a bivalent COVID-19 booster to do so.
“Warm indoor settings are the perfect places, unfortunately, for possible virus transmission, which is why we want to remind all the gathering with loved ones over the next few days and weeks to enjoy each other’s company, but do so safely,” Lightfoot said.
