CDPH COVID-19 Update: Chicago and Cook County Remain at High COVID-19 Community Level 

June 10, 2022

CDPH continues to strongly recommend masking in public indoor spaces 

COVID-19 Joint Information Center     media.coronavirus@cityofchicago.org

CHICAGO – While case numbers in the city continue to decrease, Chicago and suburban Cook County remain in the High COVID-19 Community Level based on the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) strongly urges everyone to wear masks in indoor public settings, stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines, including all recommended boosters, and avoid non-essential indoor gatherings for people who are at high risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.

 The CDC determines COVID-19 Community Levels as Low, Medium, or High, based on the number of ​new local COVID-19 cases, regional COVID-19 hospital admissions, and COVID-19 hospital capacity in the prior week. They were developed to help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest local COVID-19 data. Travelers should review CDPH’s travel guidance and check the CDC map to know whether the areas they are visiting are Low, Medium, or High risk for COVID-19 and take proper precautions.

 When the CDC updates its COVID-19 Community Levels national map each week, City of Chicago and suburban Cook County data are combined into one weekly case metric for Cook County. Hospitalization data, in contrast, reflect a burden on the whole federally defined Health Service Area, which includes hospitals in Cook, Lake, DuPage, and McHenry counties. CDPH continues to track and report COVID-19 hospital burden specifically for Chicago hospitals every day on its dashboard and uses this local hospital data to make further mitigation decisions. Visit chi.gov/coviddash for the Chicago COVID-19 daily data dashboard.

COVID-19 Community Levels in U.S. by County

Case rates continue to increase throughout the Midwest and Northeast United States, and over 42 percent of the U.S. is now at a Medium or High COVID Community Level. A total of 32 of Illinois’ 102 counties are now at a High Level, including every northeastern Illinois county. This is up from 19 last week.

  Community Level Number of Counties Percent of Counties % Change from Prior Week
  High

314
(241 last week)

 9.74% 2.26%
  Medium

1,056
(736 last week)

 32.75% 9.93%
  Low

1,854
(2247 last week) 

 57.51% -12.19%

 

For additional COVID-19 news, see CDPH’s weekly update or visit Chicago.gov/COVID.

 

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