Cook County could reinstate a series of restrictions on COVID-19 aimed at reducing the increase in cases, as the county begins to see a third increase in coronavirus, health officials said on Saturday.
Both the City of Chicago and Cook County recently saw more than 600 new cases daily, according to Dr. Rachel Rubin, a senior physician and co-leader of the Cook County Department of Public Health.
A few weeks ago, Rubin said, about 250 cases were reported each day. On Saturday, Illinois saw 2,839 new cases and 13 deaths while the positivity rate increased from 4.1 to 4.3%.
A total of 145,315 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in a recent 24-hour period, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. In all, a total of 6,188,607 doses were administered across the state.
Health officials in the city of Chicago have expressed concern about a “quantum leap” in coronavirus cases, saying that a failure to reduce these gains could cause some restrictions to be reimposed after being loosened earlier this year.
According to IDPH data, the city of Chicago saw its seven-day positivity rate rise from 3.2% on March 19 to 4.5% on March 28, a rapid increase that is alarming some public health experts. .
While no decision has been made on whether to restore restrictions in Cook County, officials say the change may take place next week, and the biggest focus may be on internal activities.
“The data showed that it is not necessarily about outdoor activities, but indoors, so this is the kind of thing that we have to evaluate and look at the data,” said Rubin.
As is the case in Chicago, Rubin said that cases are increasing in the youngest population in Cook County, particularly in the 20s and 30s, as this age group is not widely vaccinated.
Even with the availability of the coronavirus vaccine becoming more widespread, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, are asking residents, especially younger ones, to continue to adhere. protocols of social detachment and wearing their masks in public, saying that the end of the pandemic may be near if residents remain vigilant.
“The actions you take now will impact what we can all do in the future,” said Lightfoot earlier in the week. “We don’t want to be forced to back down, or worse, close these things because I didn’t do what is necessary now to remain diligent. COVID-19 is still here, still killing people in our city every day. So we have to remain diligent. . “