CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An increase in COVID-19 cases in Chicago is preventing further reopening and could lead to a new round of restrictions.
New cases are up nearly 70 percent from a month ago and nearly 40 percent from a week ago. The city is averaging nearly 500 cases a day, up from about 300 a month ago.
“We have over 400, almost 500 cases on average as of today,” Lightfoot said at a news conference Wednesday. “That’s a quantum leap from where we were even three weeks ago. That is concerning. And that is obviously dictating that we have to proceed with caution as we open up. We’re not gonna see anything more significant in the reopening front until we see those numbers stabilize and start to come down.”
Mayor Lightfoot said the increase is affecting mostly 18-to-39-year-old North Side residents.
"Seeing the uptick on the North Side, we are concerned and we are urging members of those communities - whether it is Old Town, Lakeview, Lincoln Park, Portage Park, Old Irving [Park] - that's where we are seeing the increase and we are seeing it in the 18- to 39-year-old cohort across different races. We're concerned," Lightfoot said.
There is concern about another surge in cases; and the Mayor said Chicagoans won’t see any more significant reopenings until the case count trends in the right direction.
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