Thread by @BauerJournalism

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Dr. Allison Arwady will have a news conference and COVID-19 update t 1:30 p.m.

I'll live tweet. Follow for updates and let me know if you have questions.

https://twitter.com/BauerJournalism/status/1473290563386589199

You'll be able to watch here:

https://twitter.com/chicagosmayor/status/1473375016289021952

BREAKING: Proof of COVID-19 vaccine required for Chicago bars, restaurants, gyms and other venues starting Jan. 3, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announces. Here’s what you need to know: buff.ly/32rUJen.

Lightfoot: "There's no denying that we are in a fifth wave of COVID-19. This new wave is seemingly more deadly than the last, spreading faster and causing profound harm. To be clear, I have not been this concerned about COVID-19 since the early days of the pandemic in 2020."

Lightfoot: The latest variant, Omicron, appears to spread more easily. We have upticks in positivity rate, cases, hospitalizations and deaths. "In fact, we are now averaging over 1,700 new COVID cases in Chicago residents every single day."

Lightfoot: Within the past few weeks, we were at ~300 cases per day and looking at a downward trend.

That's been completely reversed.

Hospitalizations are at their highest since the surge last winter. Deaths are at their highest in months.

Lightfoot: "We can expect a post-holiday surge in cases."

"We didn't want to get to this point, but given the situation we find ourselves in, we simply have no choice."

Lightfoot: Beginning Jan. 3, you must show proof you're fully vaccinated to enter bars, restaurants, gyms and some entertainment venues in Chicago.

blockclubchicago.org/2021/12/21/pro…

Lightfoot: Historically, from data, these are the places that are the most risky for spread.

This order will remain until the threat form COVID-19 has "diminished significantly, meaning when we are out of this current surge."

Lightfoot: Exempt are schools, day cares, houses of worship, etc.

(See full list: blockclubchicago.org/2021/12/21/pro…)

Lightfoot: If you're running into a coffee shop to get a cup and go, you don't need to show proof. If you're going to linger, you do.

Lightfoot: "If you are a vaccinated resident, starting Jan. 3, don't forget your CDC COVID-19 vaccination record card or a physical or digital photo of that card to enter any bar, restaurant, theater, sporting arena or other establishments that serve food or drink."

Lightfoot: There is a test-out option for unvaccinated employees who work in one of these venues. It's NOT for patrons.

Lightfoot: "Now, some will ask, 'How long will these conditions last? Or will there more extreme mitigation measures imposed?' The answer lies with the unvaccinated. Let's review: The virus spreads by insinuating itself into our bodies. It loves the unvaccinated. And the ...

"Omicron variant is spreading more rapidly than any other variant that we have seen to date. If you are unvaccinated, you are at the highest possible risk. In fact, over 70% of the people in ICU beds are unvaccinated. Amongst the people who are dying, over 75% are ...

"unvaccinated. The evidence is clear: The unvaccinated are affecting the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of all the rest of us. So, to control the spread, we have to limit the risk. And a significant risk in our city remains the unvaccinated. To put it simply: If you have ...

" been living without having a vaccination, it's time for a change. If you wish to live life as normally as possible, with the ease to do the things you love, you must be vaccinated in the city of Chicago starting Jan. 3."

This is inconvenient by design.

Lightfoot: We're entering our third year of this pandemic.

"This is what we have to do to keep our health system from being overwhelmed by this new wave."

Lightfoot: Businesses seeking more guidance should visit Chicago.gov/Reopening.

Lightfoot: "To be clear, the new order that we are announcing today has been done after collaboration and dialogue with all the various stakeholders that are being affected by this."

Lightfoot: "Get yourself vaccinated. The vaccine is readily available."

Lightfoot: "I know that this is frustrating and it's exhausting. But I'm gonna tell you what: WE all have to strap back on the armor. We've all gotta do what's necessary to protect ourselves, our families, our livelihoods, our city. The last thing in the world that I wanna do ...

"is stand before you at a podium like this and announce that we're shutting our city back down. That would be devastating. I don't want to have to take that steps. But, again, it really depends on the unvaccinated. If you know someone in your family, in your friends network ...

"or just that you know that is unvaccinated, go to them. Talk to them. Listen. Send them to the CDPH website. Send them to the CDC to get information. Talk to them about what it would take to get them to stop being hesitant and get vaccinated. This new Omicron variant is ...

"deadly. It is scary. And we're seeing lots of cases in places that we hadn't seen before. We're seeing a lot of breakthroughs; luckily, most of the people that are experiencing breakthroughs are suffering mostly mild symptoms. But folks, we've gotta strap back on that armor, ...

"that mindset that we had at the height of the pandemic in 2020. That is what's gonna be needed for the next couple of months to get through this latest surge. I'm imploring you, I'm begging you: Do everything on your part to make sure you're being safe, that the people in ...

"your household are being safe and that you're doing everything you can to reach those folks who still haven't gotten the memo" that the best way to be protected is by being vaccinated.

Arwady: "I'm guessing everyone in Chicago knows someone who has COVID right now."

This is the worst surge we've experienced since before vaccines were available.

Arwady: We're averaging nearly 1,800 new diagnoses every day. On Dec. 15, we've had more than 2,800 cases diagnosed in a single day. "That's almost the most we've ever had, and I expect within the next week to week and a half we will see the highest number of COVID cases in ...

"this city that have ever been diagnosed." Test positivity is at 7.3% highest it's been in a year; it's a "big jump" just from a week ago.

We have a Delta surge now with an Omicron surge on top of it.

Arwady: "Hospital capacity remains a major concern."

She also said they expect to see a dip in cases around Christmas (since people won't be testing/will be busy with holidays), then another surge afterward from people gathering.

Arwady: Non-ICU hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients are at their highest point since before vaccines were widely available. Same for ICU beds.

Arwady: Very high transmission risk for cases per day.

Arwady: "What changed in the last week? Where did we go from being in a not good place to being in a REALLY not good place? The answer is Omicron?"
For months, it was almost all Delta. Omicron has quickly taken over.

Breakdown of variants seen in Midwest. Each bar is a week:

Arwady: You may know someone who has COVID, and you may know someone who has breakthrough COVID or who has been reinfected. "Because Omicron is much more contagious than the Delta variant — probably on the order of three times as contagious. ...

"But what the other thing that we see is that vaccines luckily continue to protect against severe outcomes, especially when people get that booster."

Arwady: We have to double down on these:
-Vax up
-Mask up
-Test up. If you're going to be gathering, especially for holidays, test.

Arwady: These are COVID-19 hospitalizations this calendar year. All the blue are unvaccinated Chicagoans.

"All of the blue on this graph is largely preventable."

Arwady: By age, we're lagging in 5- to 11-year-olds.

Arwady: They anticipate CDC might changed definition of "fully vaccinated" to include that first booster shot.

Arwady: Boston and Philly in last day or two are announcing similar requirements.

Arwady: Vaccine administration remains relatively high, but "not where I would like it to be." We're up in recent weeks, "but it is not up enough."

Arwady: "If you're hearing 'there isn't vaccine available,' that's just not true."

Arwady: Boosters by age and by race/ethnicity

Arwady: City's COVID-19 hotline to sort our testing, vaccine, booster questions, etc.: 312-746-3845

Susan Bleasdale, chief quality officer for the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System: "We are in the midsts of likely the Omicron variant surge in Chicago, Illinois and across the nation. At UI Health, we are seeing" increased cases in patients and ...

communities with a simultaneous increase in hospitalizations.

Bleasdale: "This is a rapid increase for us that is more rapid than what we saw last winter, when we peaked at 70-80 patients in our hospital at that time." Staff lived in the communities they serve; due to the significant community transmission, "we've seen increases in ...

"infection in our staff and their family members. ... The cases do appear to be very mild, though, in those" who are vaccinated and boosted. But increases in patients and decreases in staffing is significant for the hospital operations.

Bleasedale: As of yesterday, only 18% of ICU beds were available across the city. Midday, their hospital had NO beds.

Bleasedale: "With Omicron cases doubling every 2-3 days, our health systems are likely at risk of becoming rapidly overwhelmed. Our biggest concern is we will not have the beds or the staff to care for our patients should the number of COVID-19 cases continue to ...

"increase" at this rate.

Bleasedale: "Please consider vaccination, and wear a mask when you are indoors. Even when you are vaccinated."

Bleasedale: Choose wisely when and with whom you unmask, even if you're fully vaccinated.

If you have mild symptoms of a cold — which could be COVID-19 or flu — don't go to work/school.

Bleasedale: "If you have not been vaccinated, please take a moment to reflect on that decision." It protects you against severe illness and death.

Bleasedale: "Together, we can help lower the transmission of COVID-19 in our city."

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez: "Our plans are to have our schools open on Jan. 3. Our plans are to welcome our children for in-person instruction — but I need your help. I need the help of our families."

Martinez: They sent home 150,000 at-home tests for families in high-risk areas. They're asking families to drop those off to get results.

Martinez: We are gonna take the most conservative approach as we see cases in our schools, particularly in less-vaccinated areas.

"You are gonna see us transitioning more classrooms to remote when we see those situations. As a parent, I know how difficult that is for ...

"families, but we have to take that conservative approach, especially as cases are rising. How do you avoid that? Get your child vaccinated."

Martinez: They should start getting 10,000 PCR tests per week in Jan that they will use for testing.

Martinez: We're gonna use these home tests as a strategy to get through this surge in the month of January as we're quarantining more children so they can return earlier.

"We have to protect our staff; we have to protect our schools."

Business Commissioner Ken Meyer: "The vaccination requirements will slow down the spread of COVID-19 and its variants to help us continue our path to recovery." This follows NYC and LA.

Meyer: The indoor mask mandate remains in place.

Lightfoot: "I don't know that it's a failed system; and when New York City implemented it, nobody knew any abut Omicron." We're doing what we thinks makes sense for Chicago given the data and surge in cases. "No one can feel comfortable" given the "vertical lift" we've seen ...

just in one week.

"If we need to do more, we will do more; but we're taking this step by step. ... Fundamentally, we must get people vaccinated."

Lightfoot: "The solution is vaccine. The solution is vaccine. We have to get people vaccinated. The most severe outcomes we are seeing — hospitalizations, prolonged sicknesses, extended periods of problems even after they test negative and deaths — are in the unvaccinated."

Martinez: It's interesting, when you look at past actions, go back to March of 2020, we have no evidence that shutting down schools, whole systems, has done anything to counter the spread of the virus. But we have evidence that, when we've done that, we've heard children that ...

"we've hurt their mental health, we've hurt their social and emotional wellbeing and we've hurt their academics in ways that we're still trying to understand today. So, I don't see that as a viable option." If whole country, state and city shut down, he wouldn't put his family...

"at risk. "But short of that, we're going to be very granular, going school by school, classroom by classroom, and we will respond based on the information we're seeing." But they'll be conservative. That strategy will be in place in January.

Lightfoot: They'll enforce it like other cities have. "I think we're not gonna have any difficulty enforcing it. Obviously, our, frankly, a lot of our restaurants and other venues are asking us to do this."

Lightfoot: "I think this will give comfort not only to the patrons, business owners, but also to employees."

Lightfoot: "It's not gonna be any different, in some ways, than what we did during the height of COVID in 2020, particularly around capacity limits." Business inspectors went out; they'll do that again. ...

They believe in progressive discipline where it starts with a warning, but they will shut down businesses.

"If we see that, then we're gonna bring the hammer down, there's no question."

Lightfoot: Does it apply to weddings/private parties? "If there's food, absolutely."

Lightfoot: "Where we see the highest-risk activity are places where people have their masks off, where they're eating, where they're drinking."

Lightfoot: "We want people to live their lives as normally as possible, but these events that are optional, not mandatory, we've gotta get people to do the right thing, and that's where we're imposing these mitigation efforts."

Lightfoot: We always look at the ripple effect. "My No. 1 priority is saving lives. ... Throughout this pandemic, we've been very clear: We're focused on saving lives. And we are concerned about this surge in cases. This is very concerning."

Lightfoot asked about alleged COVID outbreak at mayor's staff party: "Let me be clear: We had a gathering. We, our office, the mayor's office, is really, highly vaccinated. There's only 1-2 people who are not, and they've got approved exemptions. ... But as a precaution, we ...

"required every single person who came in to demonstrate that they had a negative COVID test. We offered COVID testing. ... The reality is, we're seeing a significant amount of community spread. You see that in the data that Dr. Arwady has indicated. So, we thought out of an ...

"abundance of caution, this week and next, we're telling our staff if you can work remotely, work remotely."

Lightfoot: It's everybody across city government.

Lightfoot: People wore their masks inside.

Why is she not quarantining after one of the closest members of her staff tested positive? She says she tested negative this morning. She's fully vaccinated and boosted.

Meyer: Business investigators will make sure signs are up. They'll make sure there is a plan for what employees are supposed to be following, and it is being followed.

Lightfoot: A lot of church leaders have reached out to us. "Obviously, this doesn't apply to them, but I think they should exercise caution." Some have gone completely remote.

Lightfoot: "Obviously, the faith leaders care about their community, so many of them are taking the precaution of going completely remote for their services. We certainly support that." They're in conversation but haven't mandate one thing or another.

Lightfoot: They're waiting 'til Jan. 3 to give businesses time to adapt.

Bleasedale: "By midday, we tend to fill." Their ICU beds were filled today. They're trying to transition people out. "But, with this exponential rise, it is a significant strain. I have significant concerns about our health system, but all of the health systems."

Arwady: "Since very, very early in COVID, we've been working closely with all of the hospitals across Chicago on a daily basis. They are telling us what their availability is, and we've been really clear, particularly with this surge, that we don't just mean how many beds do ...

"you have — we mean how many beds do you have that you are able to staff. ... We follow this across the whole system. ... We watch capacity limits. There are other things you are able to do, which we have not had to do at this point, if we were thinking about things like ...

"having to cut back on elective procedures," limiting activities, changing standards of care levels. "We don't want to have to get there. We are not talking about sort of turning McCormick Place into a hospital again. We have learned a lot about how to flex and grow, but we ...

"have also learned we need to act when it is necessary."

Arwady: She worked in West Africa during Ebola and saw its health system get overwhelmed. "We're not gonna let that happen. This is a step where we're trying to thread the needle on getting people to do the most important thing to" get protected.

Lightfoot: They won't speculate about if this gets worse what mitigations would come.

(Officials have already said they expect this to get worse in terms of cases, hospitalizations, etc.)

Lightfoot:"I don't want to have to shut the economy down. I don't want to have to take other mitigation steps. We have been through hell and back in the last 20 months. ... But if we have to take drastic steps, we will take them. ... But it really depends upon the actions that...

"people take here and now. We are in another crisis and we've got to act accordingly. Get vaccinated."

Lightfoot asked about party again: "You don't know that's true. You have no idea when my exposure was. The practical matter is I test on a regular basis because I'm out in the community regularly. ... I care about my own personal health; I care about the health and wellbeing ...

"of my family; care about the health and wellbeing of my staff, so I'm testing regularly. You're conflating and trying to pull something together that doesn't make any sense, Maryann. We have a ton of community spread. Our people live in the community."

Lightfoot: A lot of things have happened between Thursday and today. "I'm being cautious because I have to be for myself, for my wife and my child, and because I'm the leader of this city. I'm practicing what I'm preaching. So I will continue to be cautious, and I will ...

"continue to make sure if I feel sick or if I feel like I have symptoms or I've been exposed to somebody I call Allison [Arwady], and I explain the circumstances to her and I follow her advice."

Press conference over.