With coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continuing a rapid decline after a peak in the omicron variant, the commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Public Health says that she hopes that mask and vaccine mandates could be lifted, but cautioned that doing so too early would set back efforts to combat the virus.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Dr. Allison Arwady said that the city has seen its positivity rate and hospitalizations drop significantly in recent weeks, and that she is heartened by the emerging data.According to Arwady, the city’s positivity rate on COVID tests is now down to 4.5%, the lowest of any of Illinois’ 11 health care regions. On New Year’s Eve, that positivity rate peaked at 20.5%.
Even still, Arwady says that lifting the mask and vaccine mandates in the city is something that she wants to do, but also wants to exercise patience in doing because of fears of a rebound in the number of cases with so many people still gathering indoors.Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady discussed what to know about various mask options—cloth, surgical, KN95, and N95— and which mask you should be wearing.
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