CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday via Twitter that Chicago will move into Phase 5 and fully reopen on Friday, June 11, in alignment with the state.
"Because you've masked up, socially distanced and got vaccinated, we're now moving to Phase 5 on Friday, June 11 in alignment with the state. This means Chicago is scheduled to fully reopen. #OpenChicago," the tweet read.
Mayor Lightfoot joined Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady on her daily COVID-19 livestream.
"The numbers are looking great...better than I think they have been through the entirety of the pandemic, so I am excited. I think we have done great work as a city, lots of individual sacrifices along the way, so I think we are ready to move into Phase 5 with the state next Friday, June 11," Lightfoot said.
"Alright, now before people uncork the champagne and have beers all around, a note of caution: COVID is still here. It is still with us, and why we are able to do what we are doing, no doubt, is a result to the vaccinations. We want to get to that 70 percent threshold that the President has challenged all of us to get to. We have a lot more work that we need to get done, so keep pushing vaccine. But we are on the right track."
Until now, Chicago's plan for a full reopening had been set for July 4.
This follows Governor Pritzker's announcement Wednesday that he expects the state to move into a full “Phase 5” reopening next week on June 11. He said COVID-19 vaccinations are going well, and the numbers of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are dropping.
"We have declining numbers of people, cases, declining number of people in the hospital, declining numbers of people who are going to the hospital for the first time with COVID, so my expectation is that on June 11, as projected, we will move to Phase 5, which is a full reopening," Pritzker said Wednesday in Peoria.
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On Wednesday, state officials reported 478 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus, including nine additional deaths. Nearly 51 percent of Illinois adults are fully vaccinated.
The state’s “positivity rate” — a major barometer in showing whether infections are under control — is less than 2 percent.
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