Chicago confirms flattened curve, claims 1,650 lives saved
But Mayor Lightfoot warns to stay at home to ‘outrun this crisis’
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Dr. Allison Arwady, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a coronavirus briefing in February. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)
By Ted Cox
Chicago confirmed Wednesday that it’s “flattening the curve” in limiting the coronavirus pandemic, estimating that the city has saved an estimated 1,650 lives by staying at home and observing social distancing.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady released the latest data midday Wednesday, shortly after the City Council held its first meeting by teleconference.
A day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker touted a slowed state “doubling rate” on COVID-19 cases of 8.2 days — meaning it’s taking more than a week for cases to double statewide — Lightfoot and Arwady reported that Chicago’s case doubling rate had reached 12 days.
(Chicago Department of Public Health)
As of Tuesday, Chicago had reported 9,666 of the state’s 23,247 COVID-19 cases and 347 of the 868 deaths attributed to the coronavirus statewide. But city data projected that if Chicago had held to a rate of cases doubling every three days it would be now have recorded 62,464 cases and 2,000 deaths.
Lightfoot credited the diligence Chicagoans have shown in observing the stay-at-home order and social distancing, including staying out of parks and off the Lakefront Trail along Lake Michigan. “Thanks to our citywide efforts to stay home and socially isolate, we have made important progress in flattening the curve and stemming the spread of COVID-19 in Chicago,” she said in s statement. “However, as encouraging as these numbers are, the light at the end of the tunnel is only a pinprick and we will need continued diligence and social compliance before we can bend the curve and outrun this crisis. That’s why it is imperative we continue to be safe and act responsibly, as it is truly a matter of life and death.”
“This data is encouraging and shows that all of our efforts appear to be having the intended impact in helping to limit the spread of this virus,” Arwady added. “I want to thank the people of Chicago who absolutely have saved lives by staying home. But I want to be clear — this also tells us that we need to be abiding by these restrictions more now than ever, because we haven’t yet gotten to the other side of the curve, where the number of daily cases begins to fall day after day. We need to get to the other side of the curve to be able to move forward as a city.”
Later Wednesday, at the state’s daily coronavirus briefing, Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported 1,346 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state total to 24,593, and 80 new deaths, bringing the state toll to 948. But she again expressed optimism that those figures were consistent with other daily data over the last week. “Even though we are flattening the curve, we still have a ways to go, and we have to tough this out together,” Ezike said.
“I hope everyone is continuing to do their best to stay healthy, not only physically but also emotionally,” she said. “These are trying times, but this is an indication of our resilience.”
“We need social distancing,” Pritzker said. “We need people to stay at home.”
Arwady pointed out that Chicago hospitalizations have not outpaced capacity, without yet having to deploy the McCormick Place Alternate Care Facility. Also, data compiled by BlueDot, a health company that shares information with the Chicago Department of Public Health, found that in February and March city residents were fielding between 59 and 64 percent of phone calls at home. According to BlueDot, the data compiled anonymously now show that Chicago residents are fielding about 79 percent of phone calls from home.
A graph shows the various courses of infection traced in Chicago, Illinois, and nationally. Keep in mind, the true difference is even more dramatic, because the graph is not on a uniform scale between 100 and 1,000 and 10,000 and 100,000. (Chicago Department of Public Health)