Chicago Mask, Proof of Vax Mandates To Be Lifted Soon: Officials

CHICAGO — The requirement for Chicago residents to show proof of vaccination when they enter restaurants, bars and gyms and wear masks in certain indoor settings could be short-lived, but the city’s top doctor isn’t saying exactly when the mandate will go away.

Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said Tuesday that based on the way the city’s COVID-19 numbers are trending, proof of vaccination requirements could be lifted “not that long from now.” Arwady isn’t predicting the mandate to be removed within the next week, but said that COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations have dropped enough to warrant considering removing the requirement.

On Wednesday, not long after Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that the state'smask mandate will be lifted on Feb. 28, city officials said that mask and vaccine requirement mandates will be lifted if certain metrics are made.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, the health department said that if three of four primary community transmission and risk metrics reach "lower transmission risk" levels and remain there for two weeks, both the mask mandate and requirement to show proof of vaccination will be lifted.

City officials said that further details about how the process would be carried out will be released in coming weeks.

Chicago residents have been required to show proof of vaccination at restaurants, theaters and sporting events since Jan. 3 when COVID-19 cases were surging. But new daily cases have dropped by 47 percent last week, according to health data and hospitalizations are down 41 percent.

Illinois Department of Public Health data indicates Chicago is averaging 889 new positive cases a day with hospitalizations dropping to 93 per day. COVID-19 related deaths have also dropped to an average of 13 per day, the health department indicated, which represents a drop of 48 percent. The city’s positivity rate stood at 4.1 percent last week, which is down from 6.9 percent.

“If we continue to see the drops like we've been dropping, it would not be that long from now, I think,” Arwady said about the timing of the proof of vaccination mandate being removed.

But Arwady said the possibility of residents no longer having to show proof of vaccination is a sign things are moving in the right direction.

“We’re not going to keep the vaccination requirement just because we like it. We’re keeping it because the risk remains higher at this point,” Arwady said Tuesday. “And yeah, I am feeling confident that it will be able to come off relatively soon, and if we keep seeing a 50 percent drop week over week, that could be quite soon.”