As indoor mask mandates issued as protection against the spread of COVID-19 became a thing of the past in February, many people changed their behavior, taking them off most of the time.
So, it came as no surprise to some that many shopping indoors or attending large events over the Memorial Day weekend did not return to wearing masks despite Lake County moving from a medium to high risk level for the spread of the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.
Lake County health department Executive Director Mark Pfister, who continues to mask indoors, said misinformation about the need for mask-wearing once the mandate was lifted in February has contributed to the reluctance of many to once again mask up.
“A lot of this has carried over from the time the decree was removed,” he said. “COVID is not gone. Most shoppers don’t wear them. Some health providers are not enforcing,” he added, referring to an institution which must require them. “The health department is not one of them.”
Lake County is now one of 15 counties in the state — including all in the Chicago area — considered at a high rate of potential transmission of the disease as of Thursday because of the number of new cases, people hospitalized in the past week and hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
New cases declined 29.6% in Lake County over the past week to 345.42 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents on a weekly rolling average, but the county still moved into the highest risk category, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pfister said if the average is more than 200 new cases and more than 10 new hospitalization per 100,000 residents, a county is considered at high risk. There were 10.9 new admissions per 100,000 residents, and 3.5% of staff inpatient hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients. Two of three place a community in the highest risk category. In the week ending May 19, only the new cases were too high.
“We knew it was going to happen,” Pfister said. “The number of increasing hospitalizations lags by two to three weeks.”
There were 11 people hospitalized with the disease at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, three at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, 19 at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville and 11 at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, according to officials there.
While officials in Highland Park and Buffalo Grove do not plan to reinstate mask mandates at this time, Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor said in an email Tuesday individuals both visiting City Hall and working there must wear masks starting Thursday.
“We don’t anticipate this to last forever, but for now, we must continue to be vigilant and protect ourselves and our vulnerable neighbors against the virus,” Taylor said in the email.
Dr. Michael Bauer, the medical director at Lake Forest Hospital, said in an email the current omicron variant and sub variant are reasons for the increase in new cases. He urges people to avoid large indoor gatherings, wear masks inside and get tested for even the mildest of symptoms.
“Fortunately, while vaccines may not be providing full protection from infection, they continue to do a very good job at keeping people from getting severely ill and hospitalized,” Bauer said in the email.
Pfister said people who are fully vaccinated are eight times less likely to die from the disease and two times less likely to become infected.
Bauer, Pfister, Rachel Loberg, Condell’s chief nursing officer and Dr. Lavanya Srinivasan of Vista Health Systems all urge anyone who is not fully vaccinated to get their shots, including boosters.