CDC Releases New Recommendations on Masking as Cases Increase: Yesterday, the CDC issued new recommendations for masking as the country has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases, primarily the Delta variant.  The Illinois Department of Public Health and the State Board of Education are fully adopting these new recommendations. 

The state’s positivity rate over all 11 regions has increased from 1.3% to 3.6% in the last 12 days and almost an entire 3 percentage points since the middle of June.

Included are new recommendations for:   

• Fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.  Fully vaccinated people might choose to wear a mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they are immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease from COVID-19, or if they have someone in their household who is immunocompromised, at increased risk of severe disease or not fully vaccinated.

• Fully vaccinated people who have a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to be tested 3-5 days after exposure, and to wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result.

• Universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.

Chicago Adds to its Travel Advisory, but Lollapalooza Remains Scheduled: The city of Chicago has issued a new travel advisory for 14 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands as the city is expected to see a 200-case-per-day benchmark that could add on potential new restrictions within the next few days.  The states on the travel advisory include:Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Wyoming.

Residents traveling back from these states are asked to quarantine when they return if they aren’t vaccinated or do not receive a negative test.    

The Lollapalooza music festival is still scheduled to begin tomorrow through Sunday at Grant Park but city public health officials are urging anyone with suspected symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, to stay away from the festival.

It was also announced that the city will expand a program offering gift cards to residents who receive an at-home vaccine.  Anyone age 12 and up is eligible to receive a vaccine. Up to 10 people can be vaccinated at a time, so Chicagoans can invite family, friends or neighbors to their home to be vaccinated together.

Every Chicago household that chooses in-home vaccination will receive either a $50 gift card from Grubhub or a $25 Visa gift card. Grubhub gift cards are available while supplies last and are limited to one per household. Visa gift cards are limited to one per person.  People can choose between the Pfizer (12 and older) and Johnson & Johnson (18 and older) vaccines.  Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The gift card distribution will begin August 2.  Residents can sign up by calling 312-746-4835 or visiting the city’s website. 

Update on Vaccinations: A total of 13,139,579 vaccines have been administered to Illinois residents. The average number of vaccines administered daily is 17,982.  According to the state’s vaccine administration data, slightly over 50% of the state’s overall population have been fully vaccinated with DuPage County leading the state with over 59% of its population fully vaccinated.

Here’s how the rest of the state’s population by age groups ranks in terms of vaccinations:

• 12 years of age and older – 56% fully vaccinated; 72% one dose administered
• 18 years of age and older – 59% fully vaccinated; 74% one dose administered
• 65 years of age and older – 75% fully vaccinated; 91% one dose administered             

Additionally, the state has updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 1,415,572 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 1,302 positive tests per day since last reported here 12 days ago on July 16.  In total, 26,720,724 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 35,645 per day since July 16. 

The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 3.6% since July 16.  You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link. 

Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 23,420 deaths, an average increase of 5 per day since July 16.

You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, vaccinations, and interactive maps.

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