CHICAGO — Chicago could close businesses and go back to Phase 3 if new cases continue to climb, Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned Wednesday morning.
The announcement comes as the city’s average number of new cases continues to climb, as does the positivity rate. Young people are driving the uptick in new cases, with people age 18-29 now accounting for 30 percent of coronavirus cases reported in recent weeks in Chicago, officials said.
Lightfoot said 18-29 year olds must stop gathering in large groups and start wearing masks in public if the city wants to stay on track.
“Yes, our metrics are tracking better than the rest of the country, but that doesn’t mean that we can ever let our guard down,” Lightfoot said. “It means our precautions are working and that we need to continue to be diligent.”
The city is now seeing an average of 192 new cases per day. That number has been slowly climbing for weeks — and it’s now worryingly close to 200, the number at which Chicago goes back to being considered a city with a high incidence of coronavirus.
And Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said she expects new cases to keep climbing.
“When we get back above 200 we’re back in a high incidence state, and for me that means we are back in a caution state,” Arwady said. Hitting and staying above 200 will be a “great concern” for officials, she said.
If the city does hit more than 200 cases per day, it will not equal an automatic rollback to Phase 3, but officials will look at problem areas, Arwady said. If they’re seeing cases come from bars, they’d consider rolling back bars, for example.
“For you following every day how we’re doing in Chicago, that’s the number I want you to watch,” Arwady said. “And I want you to help us … drive that number down. It’s how we move ahead in Chicago and not backwards.”
Lightfoot said people must wear masks in public and stop gathering in large groups if we want to prevent a rollback and keep businesses open.
“Minimize gathering in large groups. I repeat: The larger the group the higher risk that someone in that group has COVID-19. So minimize gathering in large groups,” Lightfoot said. “Wear a face covering when you leave your house everywhere … not just some of the time, but all of the time. That’s critically important to reduce the spread.”
While young people are at less risk for serious adverse effects of COVID-19, it can happen, Arwady said. A woman in her 20s had to get a lung transplant last month.
“You are not immune to COVID-19,” Lightfoot said, referring to 18-29 year olds. “The reality is actually quite different, and the data proves it. Unfortunately, since June 15, nearly 30 percent of the new cases in Chicago have come from those who are 18-29. And we’re seeing these increases across race and ethnicity and all over the city. And this should be the proof that you need: If you are in the 18-to-29-year-old cohort, you are catching COVID-19. You are getting sick. … The problem isn’t just that you’re hurting yourself. The problem isn’t just that you’re hurting people in your network. … You’re hurting the whole city.”
She Lightfoot said she wants to avoid shutting down the economy again, “but, if we must, we must.”
“We are dangerously close to going back to a dangerous state of conditions,” she added.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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July 15, 2020 at 04:38PM
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Chicago 'Dangerously Close' To Reversing Course On Coronavirus Progress And Going Back To Phase 3, Mayor Warns - Block Club Chicago
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