Chicagoans Urged To Wear Masks Indoors As Daily Cases Surpass 200

CHICAGO — On a day when the City of Chicago surpassed 200 new coronavirus cases a day, city health officials are now urging everyone over the age of 2 to wear masks in indoor settings regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.

The announcement comes three days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance that everyone — including fully vaccinated residents — should wear masks indoors in areas where new cases of the coronavirus are considered substantial. On Friday, Cook County, along with other counties such as Will, DuPage and McHenry, entered that category and moved from the “moderate level” to the substantial range indicating a surge in new positive cases.

Much of the increase in cases is being blamed on the delta variant as well as the hesitancy among some to get the coronavirus vaccines. A report issued this week also indicated that in addition to masks being recommended, Illinois restaurants and bars could face having to issue more restrictions if positive COVID-19 cases continue to grow.

City officials announced masks will remain optional outdoors and comes as Lollapalooza, the popular outdoor music festival at Grant Park that is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors this weekend.

“We are taking this step to prevent further spread of the very contagious delta variant and to protect public health,” Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s public health commissioner, said in a statement on Friday. “This isn’t forever, but it is necessary to help decrease the risk for all Chicagoans right now.”

Earlier this week, Arwady said that she did not anticipate Lollapalooza creating any significant issues but said that she did expect some new COVID-19 cases to come out of the event. Mayor Lori Lightfoot said recently that she hasn’t had any second thoughts about allowing the festival to continue as planned.

Lightfoot said earlier this month that she would consider issuing new mandates for masks once the city reached 200 new cases per day. On Friday, the city met that mark and is now averaging 206 new cases, according to city health officials.

State health officials announced Friday that new cases of the coronavirus have increased by nearly 50 percent over the past week. Health officials announced 2,348 new confirmed or probable cases, which marks the second time in three days new cases have topped 2,000 across the state.

Over the past seven days, the state has averaged 1,669 new daily cases, which is an increase of 46 percent, according to data.