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ILLINOIS
MAY FACE NEW COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS AS ‘HIGH ALERT’ SOUNDS
Illinois Policy Institute/
Dylan Sharkey
Proof of vaccination may be required in
Chicago to enter restaurants, gyms, theaters and other public spaces. So
far, the state is not considering a similar move but Illinois is on
‘high alert’ regarding COVID-19 transmission.
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 New COVID-19 cases has put Illinois
into “high alert,” raising questions of new restrictions such as showing proof
of vaccination to enter some public places.
The first case of the new omicron variant was detected Dec. 7 in Illinois. The
Chicago resident, who was fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, tested
positive in a hospital but was recovering at home.
“Omicron has many mutations that the other circulating variants don’t have and
because it’s distinctive in that way, we could very quickly identify it as
omicron,”said Dr. Mary Hayden from Rush University Medical Center, who
discovered omicron in Chicago.
New COVID-19 cases statewide have pushed the daily average to over 7,100 cases
in the past two weeks. The daily average for November was 2,603 cases.
One of the possible restrictions on the table for Chicago is proof of
vaccination to enter some public places, saidDr. Allison Arwady, Chicago
Department of Public Health commissioner.
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“I certainly am more
interested in that than I am in needing to do some of the major
shutdowns,” Arwady said.
She didn’t list
specific public places, but city leaders have looked to New York
City’s mandate requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test to
enter places such as theaters, gyms, restaurants and bars.
Illinois Department of Public Health administrators said the state
isn’t currently considering proof of vaccination for public spaces
As of Dec 10, 72% of Illinoisans age 12 and up are fully vaccinated
and 79% have at least one dose. Those numbers are virtually the same
in Chicago, with 71% and 78%, respectively.
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