Chicago enters ‘high’ level of Covid alert

Chicago was the latest city to introduce a “high” level of Covid warning under CDC guidelines, but Windy City officials are choosing not to reintroduce the mask requirement and are instead recommending the use of face masks only, in increasing numbers but in limited numbers. your deaths.

The change, announced Thursday night, has affected Cook County and others in the area, including Chicago, the Department of Health announced this week. One of the most important times of the year for the city’s tourism industry, with more than a million people expected to visit during the holidays, falls just before Memorial Day weekend.

While such a move often leads to a mask order being reinstated, authorities will have to wait this time as virus deaths have drastically decreased in recent months. The city has an average of 1,081 infections per day, but only 0.1 deaths in 2.7 million cities.

There is a national trend in mortality rates that remain low despite an increase in cases as the actual risk that people face each day from Covid decreases due to the effectiveness of vaccines, the prevalence of treatments and the milder Omicron variant. other tribes.

Overall, the United States has an average of 109,237 cases and 356 deaths per day, both numbers up 6% in the past week.

While a mask requirement does not remain, experts are providing further advice on how residents and visitors can stay safe during this busy weekend.

“One of the simplest things we can do to reduce our risk of COVID-19 is to do most things outside or throw a party outside,” said Dr Allison Arwady, the city’s public health commissioner. NBC Chicago †

“For me, that reassures me, and I know that when people get together for Memorial Day, I highly recommend it, especially if you can do it for someone at higher risk.”

Windy City officials are departing from New York City, which reached “high” levels of Covid transmission earlier this month but chose not to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines (CDC) with a mask requirement to re-enter.

Earlier last week, the Big Apple also crossed the hospitalization threshold and the number of cases that put it in the “high” risk category.

Mayor Eric Adams was reportedly pressured by health officials to withdraw his mask orders, but chose not to do so.

“I’m proud of what we did and that we didn’t let Covid get us down,” he said. New York Daily News †

“We are prepared and we do not panic. When I look at hospital admissions and deaths, the numbers are stable.’

Government workers who feel more comfortable around Covid and aren’t afraid to react to business fluctuations is a trend that seems to come from above.

Dr. Ashish Jha, the new Covid response coordinator of the White House, said this week that Covid is not as dangerous as it was recently.

“What’s extraordinary about the recent increase in infections that we’ve seen is how stable the severe disease, and especially deaths, has been at eight weeks,” Jha told the AP.

“The killer of a year ago is not Covid”.

Between treatments, widely available COVID-19 vaccines and booster injections, and the milder nature of the Omicron variant, virus deaths are now preventable, Jha says.

“We’ve gotten to a point where I believe most deaths from COVID-19 are preventable, that deaths that usually occur are unnecessary, and we now have many tools to ensure that people don’t get these deadly diseases,” he said.

However, not all blue cities agree. In Philadelphia, authorities withheld orders for school masks this week as cases escalated.

“As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the Philadelphia area, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) has recommended continued universal mask wear to help protect the health and well-being of everyone,” he said. Dr William Hite, town school. Commissioner said in a statement.

The move comes weeks after the city made the bizarre decision in late April to impose an order for covered masks before orders were lifted just four days later.