Chicago Could Soon Hit 'High' COVID-19 Category Again As Cases Surge

CHICAGO ­— Chicago, along with other cities in Illinois, could soon be headed for a COVID-19 category that hasn’t been seen in months as new cases of the virus continue to be reported at alarming rates by state health officials.

Chicago health officer Dr. Allison Arwardy predicted that the city could soon reach the “high” transmission category of new COVID-19 cases. The announcement comes at a time when officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that the state is now seeing more than 6,000 new cases per day for the first time since February.

While Chicago and other areas may be ready to jump from the medium transmission category to high as established by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, Arwardy did not announce that the increase in cases automatically means that the city would bring its mask mandate back.

City officials lifted the mask mandate along with the proof of vaccination requirement on Feb. 28. Public transportation agencies such as CTA and Metra also lifted mask requirements after a federal judge in Florida determined that the CDC had overstepped its bounds by extending mask requirements for airline passengers.

However, as cases continued to surge in recent weeks, Arwardy recommended that patrons of Chicago businesses, bars, and restaurants return to wearing a mask. Arwady said on Tuesday that she will continue to monitor where COVID-19 cases are going before making a determination of whether the mask mandate will return.

Whether it does, however, does not change her mind about the city returning to the high transmission category.

"Unfortunately, that is the direction that we're heading, “Arwady said Tuesday, calling the higher caseloads a “point of concern.”

Across Illinois, health officials have seen COVID-19 cases grow by 17.7 percent as the state is now averaging 6,065 new cases per day. While the state did not report any new COVID-19 deaths on Monday, officials said that cases have jumped 174 percent over the past month.