November 15, 2020

Anna Murray 

The holiday season is around the corner in the United States. Due to the spread of COVID-19, people are going to face this virus and to experience a different family gathering. 

Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, recently confronted the increasing numbers of confirmed cases. The City Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, just announced a stricter restriction for the following days, especially for the upcoming Thanksgiving. 

Stricter limitations included avoiding unnecessary meet and leaving home only for work or school, and even suggesting cancel the Thanksgiving gathering. An additional limitation contained that special events like wedding or funeral would only allow 10 people to stay in one closed-space. 

From the city data, the confirmed number of COVID-19 cases is surging. A month ago, the daily average confirmed cases in Chicago were 500. The positivity rate was just 5%. But, currently, the city was averaging around 1,900 COVID-19 cases and the positivity rate just tripled to 14%.

Lightfoot strongly advised that the residents in Chicago follow the stricter limitation to prevent the next peak of this pandemic. The worst result would be that Chicago might lose another 1,000 people at the end of this year, based on the previous figures. 

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health stated that the data presented the surging confirmed cases so we had to reduce any gatherings to lower the possibility to receive this virus. The new curfew will be effective on November 16 in Chicago. 

Photo:Webshot.