Chicago, New Mexico Impose Indoor Mask Mandates

The metropolis of Chicago and the authorities of New Mexico volition reimpose an indoor mask mandate for each radical older than 2 opening connected Friday, an effort to dilatory the dispersed of the coronavirus arsenic lawsuit rates rise, officials said connected Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention precocious updated its guidance to urge that everyone deterioration masks indoors successful areas with precocious lawsuit numbers, careless of their vaccination status.

A immense bulk of counties crossed the United States are experiencing either “substantial” oregon “high” transmission, according to the C.D.C.

Chicago, the nation’s 3rd largest city, joins a increasing database of metropolises similar Los Angeles County, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco that present necessitate masks successful nationalist indoor places. Hawaii, Louisiana, Oregon and Puerto Rico person besides introduced indoor disguise mandates.

And Los Angeles County said Tuesday that it would necessitate masks beryllium worn astatine ample outdoor concerts and sporting events that pull much than 10,000 people.

Though cases person risen eightfold successful Cook County, wherever Chicago is, since aboriginal July, erstwhile less than 100 cases were being reported astir days, the outlook remains acold amended than successful overmuch of the remainder of the country. On a per-capita basis, Cook County is averaging less than fractional arsenic galore caller cases arsenic the state arsenic a whole. An mean of 17 cases per 100,000 residents are emerging each time successful Cook County, compared to 43 cases per 100,000 radical nationally and 138 cases per 100,000 radical successful Florida.

New York City, which began requiring impervious of astatine slightest 1 vaccine dose connected Tuesday to prosecute successful galore indoor activities, has not mandated masks indoors for vaccinated radical — lone recommended them. The politician has said the city’s absorption is connected vaccinating the top stock of its colonisation possible.

Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s wellness commissioner, said astatine a quality league that she was watching however the vaccine requirements played out, but that the metropolis would person to beryllium astatine “much higher risk” earlier she would enactment 1 successful place. Masks are recommended successful immoderate counties successful Illinois and mandated successful each nationalist schools, and Chicago precocious introduced strict vaccine rules for teachers.

Chicago’s caller disguise mandate applies to each people, careless of their vaccination status, and covers each indoor nationalist settings, including bars and restaurants, clubs and communal areas of residential buildings, according to the city’s section of health. Masks are inactive required connected nationalist transportation, schools, wellness care, correctional and congregate surviving settings.

Masks are not required outdoors, though they are recommended for unvaccinated individuals successful crowded settings, and tin beryllium removed for eating and drinking, and for activities similar a facial oregon shave astatine a salon oregon barber shop. They are not required successful enactment places that are not unfastened to the public, if employees’s occupation bash not necessitate them to determination aroundand they tin support astatine slightest six feet of separation from others.

The city’s caller emergence successful cases did not look tied to immoderate ample events, similar Lollapalooza, a four-day euphony festival that drew hundreds of thousands of people earlier this month, Dr. Arwady said. The mandate was enactment successful spot due to the fact that the city’s regular mean of caller reported cases roseate to much than 400 a day, and it volition revert to a proposal erstwhile mean caller cases driblet beneath 400 for an extended period, she said.

“I don’t expect that this volition beryllium an indefinite, everlastingly disguise requirement,” Dr. Arwady said.

In New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday that masks would beryllium required successful each nationalist indoor settings, careless of a person’s vaccination status, from Friday done astatine slightest Sept. 15.

Starting successful May 2020, New Mexico required radical successful nationalist spaces to deterioration a mask, but dropped it astir a twelvemonth aboriginal for radical who were afloat vaccinated, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

In caller weeks the fig of caller cases successful the authorities has steadily risen. “This surge is simply a terrifying indicator of moving perfectly successful the incorrect direction,” Ms. Lujan Grisham said astatine a quality conference.

Ms. Lujan Grisham besides announced that teachers and each workers astatine public, backstage and charter schools successful the authorities would person to beryllium vaccinated oregon look regular testing. This mandate goes into effect connected Monday.

The emergence successful infections has led a ample fig of Covid-19 patients to beryllium hospitalized, she said. Two weeks ago, determination were 180 Covid-19 patients hospitalized successful New Mexico; connected Tuesday, that fig was 341, and expected to climb, she added.

“We’re successful a unspeakable spot for wellness attraction services and for protecting our wellness attraction workers,” Ms. Lujan Grisham said.

Requiring masks has go a hot-button governmental issue, and Republican governors similar Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas person forbidden section governments and schoolhouse districts successful their states from imposing disguise mandates.

That has not stopped districts successful those states from trying, and legal battles astir the requirements are inactive playing out.

Mitch Smith and Adam Nagourney contributed reporting.