To:
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Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members
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From:
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Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer [email protected] or 217/522-5805
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Re:
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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – City of Chicago & Cook County to Relax Mask, Vaccine Mandate Next Week; Pritzker Administration Asks State Supreme Court to Settle School Mask, Vaccine Mandate; Update on Vaccinations; Update on COVID-19 Cases
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City of Chicago & Cook County to Relax Mask, Vaccine Mandate Next Week: Citing big improvements in COVID-19 case and hospitalizations rates, Chicago and Cook County’s indoor mask mandates and vaccine requirements will begin to be relaxed on February 28. Governor Pritzker already announced two weeks ago that the state mask mandate will begin to be lifted in some situations also beginning February 28. Masks will still be required wherever they’re federally mandated, including on public transit and in health care and congregate care facilities. Masks must still be worn in day care settings and in schools, though there is pending litigation about the schools for which that mandate still applies (see story below). Venues may also continue to impose their own mitigation efforts. In Chicago, cases are down 37% from where they were a week ago and in Cook County the COVID case positivity rate is at 3%.
Pritzker Administration Asks State Supreme Court to Settle School Mask Mandate: The Pritzker Administration and the Illinois Attorney General is seeking an expedited appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court on the state’s mask mandate for schools. This mandate that has already been overturned by a Sangamon County Judge and upheld by the state’s Fourth Appellate Court, calling it “moot” after the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) suspended IDPH’s emergency rule, which was originally enacted in September 2021, but was expiring.
The mask mandate will continue to stay in place at Chicago Public Schools due to a January agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union and will not be affected by recent court rulings.
Update on Vaccinations: A total of 21,042,269 vaccines have been administered to Illinois residents. The average number of vaccines administered daily is 18,250, and 4,122,055 booster shots have been given. According to the state’s vaccine administration data, here’s how the rest of the state’s population by age groups ranks in terms of vaccinations:
5 years of age and older – 71% fully vaccinated; 81% one dose administered 12 years of age and older – 75% fully vaccinated; 85% one dose administered 18 years of age and older – 76% fully vaccinated; 86% one dose administered 65 years of age and older – 87% fully vaccinated; 95% one dose administered
The state has also updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.
Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is now reporting 3,022,684 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois since the pandemic began, which is an average increase of 2,900 positive tests per day since last reported here 14 days ago on February 9. In total, 54,055,396 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average of 120,205 per day since February 9.
The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions in the last 14 days is at 2.4%. You can see where the various regions are at in terms of their positivity rates, hospitalizations, and other metrics at this link.
Unfortunately, IDPH is reporting a total of 32,517 deaths since the pandemic began, an average increase of 59 per day since February 9.
You can also check where these cases are occurring at the State of Illinois COVID-19 website which also contains more information on this outbreak.
For information on other states and countries, John Hopkins University has developed this website that provides invaluable resources at a one-stop location detailing testing and tracing trends, timelines of COVID-19 policies, vaccinations, and interactive maps.
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