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CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lightfoot and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced Monday that Chicago is on track to transition to phase four of the “Protecting Chicago” framework on Friday, June 26, alongside the rest of Illinois.
Phase Four of the Protecting Chicago framework, titled ‘Gradually Resume’, will allow additional businesses and public amenities to open with limited capacities and appropriate safeguards.
In Phase Four, residents should continue to abide by important guidance including: physically distancing and wearing a face covering; limiting non-business, social gatherings to 50 persons for indoor events and 100 for outdoors; staying at home if you are considered vulnerable, feel ill or have come into contact with someone with COVID-19; and getting tested if you have symptoms.
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“The service and sacrifice made by Chicagoans from every corner of our city and every walk of life has allowed us to safely reach the point where we are now,” said Mayor Lightfoot, in a statement. “It includes the incredible work done by our healthcare professionals, first responders, and essential workers who have cared for our residents and kept our city running. Everything we’ve done to meet this moment has been the direct result of the hard work and sacrifice of our residents, which has not only saved the lives of thousands of Chicagoans over these past three months, but also helped lay the groundwork for the transformative recovery that will follow.”
In Phase Four, museums, zoos, performance venues, movie theaters, summer camps, and youth activities will be allowed to open for the first time. Indoor dining and drinking will also be allowed in Phase Four beginning Friday. The move into the next phase also includes adjustments to other industries that have previously reopened.
"While we will be maintaining a limit on indoor capacity at 25 percent, we are expanding the size of permitted gatherings. Indoor gatherings may now go from 10 to 50 individuals; and outdoor gatherings may increase from 50 to 100 individuals," Lightfoot said.
"Unfortunately, because of where we are in the arc of the virus, industries that require very large gatherings, such as spectator sports and conventions, will at this time remain closed in the city of Chicago."
The Mayor said there's guideline info at Chicago.gov/reopening.
"I encourage everyone to visit this site because it is the best place to learn about the latest information for both employees and employers, as well as for every Chicagoan wanting to know what to expect when they leave their home. This is important because we will continue to make updates on our guidelines throughout Phase Four depending on the data of this disease," Lightfoot said.
"It is also important because the guidelines for Phase Four in Chicago are different from the rest of Illinois and they are different for a reason. We have been working closely with the state throughout this entire process. The challenges that Chicago faces in safely navigating this crisis are unique and different from the rest of the state for reasons you would expect. We are denser. More residents take public transit and we are an international air hub. That is why anyone who is in Chicago must remember to follow the Chicago-specific guidelines."
The Mayor reiterated something she said when the city moved into Phase Three.
"Under no circumstances should our move to Phase Four be confused with this crisis being over. COVID-19 is still very much part of our present in Chicago, and it will be for the foreseeable future. We want to also emphasize that having a resurgence in cases is more than a risk. It is a very real possibility if we, meaning you, don't do everything possible to follow the guidance and minimize the risk of a resurgence. That means social distancing. That means wearing a face covering when you go outside. That means following all the hand hygiene rules that we have emphasized since March when this virus really hit the city of Chicago with full force," Lightfoot said.
The Mayor said every zip code in Chicago saw new cases just last week.
"While we're trending down, this map shows other places are going up. We need to make sure we keep moving in the right direction - down - and not unfortunately suffer the fate of many states in the south and southwest that are trending up, with new cases, new records, and cases of deaths being announced every day. That is not what we want to be the story of Chicago, but again, that depends on all of you following the guidance...If it happens here, we will not hesitate to take the necessary steps to keep COVID-19 from rapidly spreading here again," Lightfoot said.
The Mayor said that could mean moving the city back to Phase Three.
"Anyone who is sick still must stay at home. Don't try to be a hero. If you're ill, you must stay home. As well as anyone who's come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. And those who have COVID-19-like symptoms must immediately reach out to a health care provider. Our job now is to be safe. In order to be safe, we have to follow the guidance. Chicago's businesses have been doing a good job in ensuring we do so," she said.
"...Everything we've done to this moment has been the direct result of your hard work and sacrifice, which has not only saved thousands of lives of Chicagoans over these past three months, it really helped lay the groundwork for transformative recovery that will follow...The only way we continue to move through Phase Four and into another place is if we continue to be smart and selfless in making sure that we follow the various guidelines."
According to CDPH, the COVID-19 data in Chicago continues to trend positively and the city is on pace to meet the metrics to move into Phase Four. The city has seen a continued decline in the number of newly diagnosed COVID-19 cases, across all race-ethnicity groups; continued decline in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths, and emergency department visits; continued decline in percent positivity (the percentage of people tested who are positive), which is now down to approximately five percent; adequate hospital and ICU capacity, which are currently more than adequate and continue to improve as COVID-19 hospitalizations decline; adequate testing capacity, and specifically conducting at least 4,500 tests per day, which represents the ability to test five percent of Chicago’s population each month; and, adequate response capacity, with at least 90 percent of new COVID-19 cases being assigned for investigation within 24 hours. This metric has been achieved.
To move into Phase Four, Chicago had set a requirement of stable or declining cases along with a goal of reaching fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases per day, which it has now achieved, with a current 7-day average of 167 new cases per day. Based on the city’s population and national metrics from the CDC, this will move Chicago from a high-incidence to a moderate-high incidence level.
“The data continues to show that we’re making progress and we’ll be ready to move into phase four later this week,” said CDPH Commissioner Allison Arwady, M.D., in a statement “However, we still have a lot of COVID-19 cases here in Chicago; we’re just now moving from a high-risk to a medium-high-risk city for COVID-19 spread, based on our numbers, and we need to move ahead cautiously. I can’t emphasize enough the need for people and businesses to continue to abide by the public health guidance so we can avoid the spike in cases we’re seeing in other cities and states that re-opened before us.”
According to the Mayor, if and when Chicago continues to make progress against COVID-19, capacity restrictions will be loosened further within Phase Four.
For example, right now, while Chicago is still at a moderate-high level of new cases, there is approximately a 15 percent chance that a gathering of 50 Chicagoans will include someone with active COVID-19 infection. This is concerning because many people may not have symptoms, but can still spread COVID-19, which is why keeping a 6-foot distance and wearing a face covering is so important. Once Chicago has fewer than 100 new cases per day, the city will move to a moderate-incidence level by national standards, and gathering sizes and capacity limits can more safely increase.