COVID-19 Spread Rises To 'Substantial' In Cook County: CDC

CHICAGO — Public health officials recommended fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in Cook County as the rate of coronavirus transmission in the county rose from "moderate" to "substantial." Face masks are also again required inside all state government buildings in Illinois.

Under guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued Tuesday and fully adopted the same day by the Illinois Department of Public Health, universal masking is recommended indoors in areas with more than 50 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents.

Places with 100 or more new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people are considered "high" transmission areas. Most of Southern Illinois has already exceeded that threshold, according to the CDC. In Northeastern Illinois, only Lake, Kane and Kankakee counties remained at the moderate level as of Thursday.

"We strongly recommend that everyone follow the CDC recommendations and we will be issuing a new masking guidance tomorrow. The Delta variant is the strongest version of COVID-19 yet and we must contain it through both vaccinations and prevention measures such as mask wearing indoors and in crowded outdoor settings," said Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer and co-lead of the Cook County Department of Public Health.

"Until we reach a higher vaccination rate in the County, we must continue following sensible mitigation practices, particularly when cases are rising. Masking, vaccination and physical distancing are imperative," Rubin said, in a statement responding to the county's charge in CDC classification. "We will need the cooperation of all residents, employers, venue operators and officials to keep our communities safe.”

Mask mandates in Illinois were lifted in May following CDC guidance that fully vaccination people could go without them. And earlier this month, the state adopted a federal public health agency recommendation that fully vaccinated teachers and students would not need to don masks inside classrooms in the fall. But under the CDC's updated recommendations, indoor masking is recommended for all students, teachers, staff and visitors at K-12 schools, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.

IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said the virus, including the twice-as-contagious delta variant, was spreading rapidly among unvaccinated people. Public health officials estimate the delta variant has caused more than 80 percent of recent cases.

“Cases and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 both continue to increase, overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated, but the risk is greater for everyone if we do not stop the ongoing spread of the virus and the Delta variant. We know masking can help prevent transmission of COVID-19 and its variants," Ezike said, announcing the recommendations. "Until more people are vaccinated, we join CDC in recommending everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask indoors in areas of substantial and high transmissions, and in K-12 schools.”

On Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that all state government facilities will require face coverings for employees and visitors, vaccinated or not.

“Vaccines work — but we cannot promise those protections for every single future variant if we allow this virus to spread and mutate unchecked in our communities," Pritzker said. "With all the misinformation out there, I encourage all eligible Illinoisans who haven’t been vaccinated yet to talk to their doctors to alleviate any of their fears. Vaccines are how we put this pandemic behind us for once and for all, but I will continue to evaluate the need for further additional mitigations.”

The seven-day rolling average of cases in Cook County stood at 51.57 per 100,000 people. In the past week, it has risen by more than 78 percent, according to the CDC. For the week ending Thursday, new COVID-related hospitalizations in the county rose 40 percent to 242.

CDC data showed coronavirus patients occupy 1.68 percent of the county's hospital beds and 2.89 percent of beds in intensive care units.

Thursday's update about Cook County's community transmission and announcement of a universal masking requirement in state government buildings comes the same day as the opening of Lollapalooza at full capacity in downtown Chicago.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected during the multi-day music festival, which requires entrants to provide proof of vaccination or a negative result from a COVID-19 test conducted in the prior 72 hours — extended from the 24 hours initially announced by organizers.

Last week, the governor said he plans to attend. And this week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has no regrets about allowing the festival to go forward as planned, despite criticism that it risks becoming a large-scale superspreader event.

"It's outdoors," Lightfoot told reporters Monday. "We've been having large-scale events all over the city since June without major problems or issues."