The Chicago Department of Public Health is urging indoor masking in public and on public transportation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as cases rise, officials said Friday.
Fourteen counties in Illinois, including Cook and the suburbs, are seeing an average level of COVID-19 transmissions, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Friday.
A week ago, only DuPage and Lake were at an average level with Cook, Kane, McHenry and Will counties at low transmission.
“Remember that people can spread COVID for two days before they develop symptoms, so putting on a mask in indoor public places is an easy way to help protect our city while we are at an average level of COVID,” CDPH Director Dr Allison Arwady said. said Friday.
The average number of cases increased by 24% in one week and hospitalizations increased at a lesser rate of 10%, according to data from the IDPH.
“The public should pay close attention to these growing community levels, but we would like to emphasize that this is not a cause for concern,” IDPH Acting Director Amaal Tokars said in a statement.
“People at risk of serious consequences should exercise caution. And if a person tests positive, they should see a health care provider to obtain a prescription for one of the widely available therapeutic treatments.”
The seven-day average of cases was 4,376 on Friday compared to 3,521 on April 29.
Average hospitalizations rose to 745 on Thursday from 676 on April 28.
Illinois reported 7,709 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a level not seen since February, IDPH said.
Deaths from the virus remain relatively stable with seven recorded, the same as the seven-day average.
Illinois hospitals were treating 808 COVID-19 patients as of Thursday evening.
On Thursday, another 19,768 injections of COVID-19 were administered. The seven-day average is 14,163.
So far, 8,724,048 people have been fully vaccinated, or 68.8% of Illinois’ 12.7 million people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. The CDC defines fully vaccinated as two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, or one dose of Johnson & Johnson.
The total number of cases statewide stands at 3,169,315 and 33,660 Illinois have died since the pandemic began.