Chicago reopens Lakefront Trail
Illinois keeps lid on new COVID-19 cases, leading to Phase 4, as other states see spikes
Chicago’s Lakefront Trail reopened to the public Monday, but beachgoers will have to wait a while longer. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
Chicago reopened its Lakefront Trail and the 606 Trail Monday as the city and state prepared to ease coronavirus restrictions further later this week.
The state reported 658 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, bringing the total to 136,762. Some 23 new deaths brought the Illinois toll to 6,647. But both those daily figures remained well below the 1,000 new cases and 100 deaths a day typical of earlier in the pandemic, and the Illinois Department of Public Health reported that all sectors of the state remained on track to move on to the fourth phase of the Restore Illinois plan to gradually reopen the economy on Friday.
Illinois has seen continued reductions over the last month even while reopening parts of the economy, including dining outdoors, under the third phase of the plan.
Week to week, as of Friday, when the state total stood at 135,470, the 4,272 new cases reported last week dropped below 5,000 for the first time since the peak, well below the 5,283 the week before. The 320 new deaths through the week ending Friday were also well below the 465 from the week before, sustaining a steady drop from the 525 the week before that.
As of Sunday, the seven-day positivity rate statewide for coronavirus testing stood at 2 percent. Chicago reported a positivity rate of 5 percent, but that was below the 7 percent required to ease restrictions, and the city announced it would move in step with the rest of the state to the fourth phase of its reopening plan on Friday. The fourth phase is known as “Revitalization” in the Restore Illinois plan and “Gradually Resume” in the Protecting Chicago plan.
That will allow indoor seating in bars and restaurants, indoor and outdoor recreation, including summer camps and other youth activities, and reopened museums and performance venues — albeit it all at lowered capacity, with a maximum gathering of 50 people.
State and city officials, however, maintained the need for vigilance, including wearing masks and observing social distancing.
“The data continue to show that we’re making progress and we’ll be ready to move into phase four later this week,” said Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady. “However, we still have a lot of COVID-19 cases here in Chicago, we’re just now moving from a high-risk to a medium-high-risk city for COVID-19 spread, based on our numbers, and we need to move ahead cautiously. I can’t emphasize enough the need for people and businesses to continue to abide by the public health guidance so we can avoid the spike in cases we’re seeing in other cities and states that reopened before us.”
The New York Times reported Monday that, after new cases nationwide leveled out in late May and early June, they were once again on the upswing nationally. Hot spots were recorded across the so-called Sun Belt from South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona. The Times reported 23 states and U.S. territories saw cases increasing, a dozen remained “mostly the same,” and 18 saw cases on the decline, led by Illinois.
Stats maven Nate Silver of the FiveThirtyEight.com website cheered a reported drop in COVID-19 deaths nationwide on Sunday, but also drew attention to a rising number of new cases week to week, as well as a rising positivity rate nationally, to 5.3 percent from 4.4 percent a week ago.
“Over the last four months, Illinoisans have pulled together with the common mission of keeping each other safe,” said Gov. Pritzker in a statement. “By staying home and practicing social distancing, the rate of new COVID-19 cases continues to drop and each region throughout the state is prepared to move to Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan. Science and data are the overarching guardrails for how Illinois will keep moving forward. By continuing to wear face coverings and following the guidance from health experts, we can continue to safely reopen our economy and move forward together.”
Chicagoans have been clamoring to return to the lakefront and the 606 Trail, a popular recreation spot on the North Side in which a former railroad bed has been converted to a pedestrian and bike walkway. The actual Lakefront Trail for bikes and pedestrians has reopened, but beaches remain closed. Similarly, gathering areas along the 606 Trail have also been blocked off to keep people from congregating, even as the trail is open.