CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As Chicagoans adjust to the reinstatement of certain reopening restrictions aimed at slowing the coronavirus' spread, the city’s public health department is reminding everyone to use its COVID dashboard to keep abreast of the disease’s development.
The Chicago Department of Public Health debuted a two-and-a-half-minute tutorial earlier this month with its commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady demonstrating how to use the dashboard.
“I encourage you to really explore this data. It’s the same data that we use to make decisions and to drive resources as we work to keep on top of COVID-19 here in Chicago,” Arwady said in the video.
Each day, the site updates the total number of cases, people tested and deaths along with the current daily averages for each. Site users can track those changes over time. To date, Chicago has 59,160 total confirmed cases, 2,754 related deaths and has tested 427,837 people.
“You can slice and dice data however you want to answer questions that you have. You can select different date ranges and select different subgroups,” Arwady explained.
The dashboard’s promotion comes as Mayor Lori Lightfoot reinstated specific restrictions to help mitigate the virus’ progress. As of Friday, the new restrictions include the closure of indoor bars, a six-person maximum at restaurant tables, a 10-person fitness class maximum and no spa services that require the removal of a face covering. These restrictions, part of the Phase 4 reopening guidelines, are in effect until further notice.
During a July 15 press conference, Lightfoot said the city could close businesses and go back to Phase 3 if people don’t adhere to public health guidance. Phase 3 would restrict restaurants to having outdoor-only dining. Since June 15, nearly 30 percent of recent coronavirus cases in Chicago have been between people ages 18 to 29.
“If you are in the 18 to 29 cohort, you are catching COVID-19. You are getting sick,” Lightfoot said during that press conference.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported 1,541 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and only one person dying from it within a 24-hour period— a statistic the IDPH hadn’t seen since late March.