To:

Chemical Industry Council of Illinois (CICI) Members

From:

Mark Biel, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected] or 217/522-5805 

Re:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) – CDC Releases Guidance for K-12 Schools, Child Care; Update on Vaccinations; Update on COVID-19 Cases; CICI COVID Updates to be sent out as warranted  

CDC Releases Guidance for K-12 Schools, Child Care: The CDC has released updated guidance for K-12 Schools and child care.  According to these guidance documents, face coverings should be worn indoors by all individuals (age 2 and older) who are not fully vaccinated. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained.

The CDC is also recommending schools maintain at least 3 feet of physical distance between students within classrooms, combined with indoor mask wearing by people who are not fully vaccinated, to reduce transmission risk.

In addition, the CDC, which does not set vaccination requirements for schools or childcare centers, makes clear in its recommendations that it will be up to schools and local officials as to how to proceed.  The guidance also specifically notes that schools may opt for a universal masking policy, particularly if they have unvaccinated populations and do not want to require verification that a person has been vaccinated.

The guidance also recommends that all bus drivers and their passengers — vaccinated or not — wear a mask while traveling to and from school.

Update on Vaccinations: A total of 12,917,362 vaccines have been administered in Illinois. The average number of vaccines administered daily is 21,217.  According to the state’s vaccine administration data, 49.7% of the state’s overall population have been fully vaccinated with DuPage County leading the state with over 58% of its population fully vaccinated.

Here’s how the rest of the state’s population by age groups ranks in terms of vaccinations:

  • 12 years of age and older – 55% fully vaccinated; 71% one dose administered
  • 18 years of age and older – 58% fully vaccinated; 73% one dose administered
  • 65 years of age and older – 75% fully vaccinated; 91% one dose administered             

Additionally, the state has updated its COVID-19 website containing current locations and other pertinent information on one webpage.

Update on COVID-19 Cases: IDPH is reporting 1,399,946 positive tests of COVID-19 in Illinois, an average increase of 445 positive tests per day since last reported here on June 24.  In total, 26,292,979 tests have now been conducted in Illinois for the virus, an average increase of 32,254 per day since June 24. 

The state’s average positivity rate over all 11 regions is at 1.3% since June 24.  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 23,357 deaths, an average increase of 7 per day since June 24.

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.

Also, IDPH has a case breakdown of the number of positive cases in Chicago and each county relative to the number of fatalities.  The IDPH website also now includes a breakdown of the cases under each zip code in the state.

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.

CICI COVID Updates will now only be sent out as warranted: Given that the American Chemistry Council has suspended its COVID-19 Tracker, CICI will now only send out COVID Updates as warranted.  However, IDPH is still updating its vaccinations and cases and can be accessed through the links imbedded above.  

1400 E. Touhy Ave, Suite 110
Des Plaines, IL 60018
Tel: (847) 544-5995
Fax: (847) 544-5999