Fully Vaccinated People Don't Need To Wear Masks In Chicago: CDPH

CHICAGO — The city will no longer require fully vaccinated people to wear masks in most public places, health officials announced Tuesday.

The recent change to the mask guidelines puts Chicago in line with Illinois and federal policy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker also announced Monday the state won't require fully vaccinated people to wear masks in most indoor places.

However, Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said businesses are "strongly" encouraged to continue requiring masks be worn inside their stores. Since most businesses and restaurants don't have the technology or capacity to check if each patron has a valid COVID-19 vaccination card, Arwady said many should opt to enforce masks until capacity restrictions are lifted in Phase 5 of Chicago's reopening.

"We continue to strongly advise, though not require, masking policies for all indoor settings in Chicago until COVID capacity restrictions are lifted and we are in phase five," Arwady said.

Under the new guidelines, unvaccinated people or people who have only received one dose of a two-shot vaccine will still need to wear masks indoors and in some crowded public spaces. This includes children, who are just beginning to get vaccinated in some counties.

Arwady acknowledged that enforcement of the guidelines is difficult, which is why the city has worked to introduce incentives to getting vaccinated, such as concert series and fun freebies.

There might even be discounted tickets to Lollapalooza — which just announced their full reopening in Grant Park — available as incentives at vaccine sites, she said.

The city will still ask that everyone wear masks in city buildings, health care settings, jails and schools until Phase 5.