CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Chicago’s top doctor is urging caution with gatherings for Easter and Passover this weekend, as the city and state are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases.
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said unless all family members are fully vaccinated, meaning "two weeks post that second dose of vaccine," it is better not to gather in large groups.
"If there are people in your circle, who are not fully vaccinated...or if they are really high risky of COVID, if you have children, who haven't been able to get vaccinated yet, especially if they are at increased risk, you want to be really careful. We are not at a point to be having those large gatherings yet, unless you have a fully, fully vaccinated group," she said.
Dr. Arwady said "you don’t want your Easter celebration to turn into a contact tracing event. You really don’t.
"Each day as more people get vaccinated, these things are becoming safer, but with the amount of people fully vaccinated — unless you’ve got a fully vaccinated group gathering, there still is a fair bit of risk.
"The virus does not know that it is Easter, it does not know that it is Passover," Dr. Allison Arwady said. “The things that we’ve been doing to protect each other and protect those we care about — especially now with vaccine in the mix — become even more important."
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On the positive side, the weather will be nice and Dr. Arwady said unvaccinated families who insist on getting together should stay outside, wear masks, and keep six feet of social distance.
"I would just ask that if you are going to get together with folks at Easter, have a really serious conversation about vaccination status and if you have folks who are at risk it's just not a time yet to be doing those big gatherings," she said.
The current increase in cases to 500 a day, which the Mayor called a "quantum leap” over a period of three-to-four weeks, has largely affected younger North Side residents.
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Chicago's COVID-19 testing positivity rate is at 4.6 percent, which is the highest it has been since February. Around 500 residents are testing positive each day. That figure has jumped 41 percent in a week.
Additionally, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Thursday 3,526 new COVID-19 cases, the highest one-day case tally since early February. The statewide positivity is 3.5 percent, which is the highest it has been since February, as well.