Mayor Lori Lightfoot sounded a stern warning Wednesday morning that Chicago is “on the precipice,” saying she may soon need to roll back parts of the city’s reopening if COVID-19 cases continue to increase, particularly among young people flocking to bars and restaurants.
“Some of you have joked that I’m like the mom who will turn the car around if you’re acting up,” Lightfoot said with Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady at her side. “No, friends. It’s actually worse. I won’t just turn the car around. I’m going to shut it off, I’m going to kick you out and I’m going to make you walk home. That’s who I am. That’s who I must be.
In the afternoon, Gov. J.B. Pritzker laid out a targeted approach for Illinois’ response to upticks in coronavirus cases around Illinois, saying it was the best way to attack outbreaks while keeping most of the state as free of restrictions as possible.
The governor also said that going forward Illinois would be divided into 11 Emergency Medical Services regions, and that Chicago and suburban Cook County would each be an individual region.
At the same news conference, Illinois officials reported 1,187 new known COVID-19 cases, as well as 8 additional fatalities. That brings the total number of cases to 156,693 and death toll to 7,226 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Here’s what’s happening Wednesday regarding COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois:
1: 15 p.m.: Pritzker outlines targeted approach to COVID-19 spikes in Illinois; lays out criteria for state to take action
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday laid out a targeted approach for Illinois’ response to upticks in coronavirus cases around Illinois, saying it was the best way to attack outbreaks while keeping most of the state as free of restrictions as possible.
Pritzker said industry-specific mitigations will be employed as the state reviews COVID-19 data. The governor also said that going forward Illinois would be divided into 11 Emergency Medical Services regions, and that Chicago and suburban Cook County would each be an individual region.
The state will take action if data shows a sustained rise in the positivity rate of people being tested, along with an increase in hospital admissions or a reduction in hospital capacities that threatens the ability to handle a surge in cases, Pritzker said. In addition, mitigation will be applied for any region that shows three consecutive days of a positivity rate higher than 8%.
”This plan ensures we are looking at all available data to make timely decisions to protect the health of our communities,” Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement.
”By assessing key metrics that indicate both the disease burden and the capacity of each COVID-19 region to respond, we can then take targeted actions within specific regions to help mitigate the spread of this deadly disease while keeping as much of our state open as possible,” Ezike said.
12: 11 p.m.: 1,187 new known COVID-19 cases, 8 additional deaths
Illinois officials reported 1,187 new known COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as well as 8 additional fatalities.
That brings the total number of cases to 156,693 and death toll to 7,226 since the beginning of the pandemic.
(Updated at noon) 10: 45 a.m.: Chicago ‘on the precipice’ of returning to tougher COVID-19 restrictions, Lightfoot warns
Mayor Lori Lightfoot sounded a stern warning Wednesday that Chicago is “on the precipice,” saying she may soon need to roll back parts of the city’s reopening if COVID-19 cases continue to increase, particularly among young people flocking to bars and restaurants.
While the mayor consistently has cautioned the city is far from free of the grip of the pandemic, she struck a particularly dire tone at a morning news conference.
“Some of you have joked that I’m like the mom who will turn the car around if you’re acting up,” Lightfoot said with Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady at her side. “No, friends. It’s actually worse. I won’t just turn the car around. I’m going to shut it off, I’m going to kick you out and I’m going to make you walk home. That’s who I am. That’s who I must be.
“But I don’t want to be that person if I don’t have to, but I will if you make me, and right now we are on the precipice,” she added. “We are dangerously close to going back to a dangerous state of conditions.”
Lightfoot pointed to Chicago’s daily average number of new cases, which sat at 192 on Wednesday. Once that number gets over 200, which Arwady said likely will happen, the city will look at where there are increases and consider taking steps to slow the rise, the mayor said.
“If we see an uptick, if we go above 200, of course we are going to be interested and concerned about what’s driving those numbers, and then we will take measures as appropriate to address particular areas where we’re seeing the new cases coming from,” Lightfoot said.