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Chicago health officials are now recommending that all residents over 2 years old wear masks in indoor public places, regardless of their immunization status, the department said on Friday.
The Chicago Department of Public Health noted that wearing a face covering remains optional in outdoor environments “where the risk of transmitting COVID-19 is lower.”
“We are taking this step to prevent further spread of the highly contagious Delta variant and to protect public health,” said CRPD Commissioner Dr Allison Arwady. “It’s not forever, but there is a need to help reduce the risk for all Chicagoans right now.”
Businesses, employers and organizers of CRPD recommended events also require a mask in all indoor public places. Face coverings remain optional outdoors, but the social distancing recommendation remains.
Chicago Public Schools announced a similar masking policy for all teachers, staff, students and visitors, requiring that face coverings be worn inside college buildings.
Along with the Cook County suburb, Chicago is considered an area of ”substantial” COVID transmission by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a move that triggered the federal recommendation to resume indoor masking. as part of its new guidelines released on Tuesday.
The CDC has updated its guidelines to recommend that fully vaccinated people re-wear masks indoors in areas of the United States that experience “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19. The Illinois Department of Health later said it would align with CDC guidelines.
Cook County is now seeing ‘substantial’ community transmission of COVID-19, according to data from federal health officials updated Thursday, meaning fully vaccinated people should resume wearing masks indoors according to new guidelines released earlier this week.
Cook County also updated its guidelines on masking and other COVID-19 precautions on Friday, recommending that everyone wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
In accordance with the CDC, the CCDPH has stated that it “strongly recommends” the following:
- People over 2 years old should wear a mask in indoor public places, regardless of their vaccination status.
- Fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to someone suspected or confirmed to have COVID should be tested 3-5 days after exposure and wear a mask inside as above Fully vaccinated people may wish to mask themselves on the inside. outdoors in crowded places. The CCDPH fully supports this action.
- The guidelines have not changed for unvaccinated people: masks should be worn indoors and in crowded outdoor environments, regardless of the level of transmission in the community.
The CCDPH said it also continues to recommend its previous guidelines that all people in schools – teachers, staff, students and visitors – should wear masks indoors, regardless of immunization status and level of immunization. community transmission.
The department also encourages people to hide indoors or in crowded outdoor places, regardless of community transmission.
Masks are still required for anyone over the age of 2 on public transit or any indoor transportation hub, as well as in healthcare and long-term care facilities, the CCDPH said.
“You may choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission if you have a weakened immune system or if, due to your age or an underlying medical condition, you are at increased risk of serious illness, or if someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk of serious illness or is not vaccinated, ”added the CCDPH.
The updated guidelines came a day after the CDC categorized Cook County for “substantial” community transmission of COVID-19. Other Chicago area counties in this same category include: Will, DuPage, Kendall, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, DeKalb, LaSalle, and Grundy.
You can find the map of every county in the United States and its transmission level here
The CDC updated its guidelines on Tuesday to recommend that fully vaccinated people again wear masks indoors in areas of the United States that experience “substantial” or “high” transmission of COVID-19.
The agency is using two metrics to group U.S. counties into the four levels of community transmission: the number of new cases per 100,000 population and the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests over the past week.
If a county has reported 50-100 cases per 100,000 population over a seven-day period or has an 8-10% positivity rate, it falls into the “substantial transmission” level, while those reporting 100 cases or more per 100,000 or have a positivity rate of at least 10% are labeled as “high transmission”. These are the two groups for which the CDC recommends wearing masks.
The new guidelines marked a reversal from previous recommendations that fully vaccinated people could remove masks in most settings.
Many counties in Illinois fall into “substantial” transmission, labeled in orange, or “high”, labeled in red. Some counties – mostly concentrated in the northern and central regions of the state – experience “moderate” transmission, labeled in yellow, while only two are colored blue for “low” transmission, the masking recommendations at l. interior does not apply to these two categories.
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