Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot laid out a two-week business curfew to start Friday for non-essential businesses — a crackdown triggered by a new rise in COVID-19 cases.
Lightfoot said the city is in the second surge of COVID-19. The business curfew goes for two weeks “in the hopes of stemming the spread of this disease,” CBSN in Chicago reported.
According to the directive, starting Friday, all non-essential businesses will be closed to the public from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. All liquor sales will stop after 9 p.m. Essential businesses like grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants with take-out delivery services are exempt.
In a separate tweet, Lightfoot also asked residents to keep household gatherings to no more than six non-household members.
Lightfoot said she would not hesitate to roll the city back into Phase 3 or a stay-in-place if things get worse, CBSN reported.
“We are taking these measures to avoid potential catastrophic impacts. The rapid rise in cases that we’re experiencing here in Chicago is consistent with what we’re seeing, not only across the state, but across the nation, and in many other countries around the world,” Lightfoot said, the news outlet reported.
“COVID-19 thrives in places and in circumstances where people let their guard down. And as the weather cools and people move in indoors, the risk of the spread rises exponentially. That’s why we have been preaching about limiting the size of gatherings, about wearing a mask everywhere you can and particularly outside.
“We’re now seeing an uptick again of large groups of people gathering without social distancing and worse, without masks. Some of it, of course, is a misplaced sense that those you know don’t have it. That’s wrong.”
Dr. Allison Arwady, head of the Chicago Department of Public Health, echoed the mayor’s warnings and said final rollbacks, including the complete closing of restaurants, will happen if Chicago reaches a positivity rate of 8%. The city’s current rate is 6.4% and rising, CBSN reported.
She said people are letting their guard down and the COVID-19 cases found in groups is evidence of that.
“Large gatherings and even small gatherings are posing significant health risks right now,” she said, the news outlet reported.
“This moment is a critical inflection point for Chicago, and these new restrictions and guidelines represent our ongoing effort to stay ahead of this pandemic through the data and science of this disease,” she added.
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