The Cook County Department of Public Health today announced on Aug. 20 that all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask indoors, beginning on Monday, Aug. 23.
The order requires that all people above age 2 who can medically tolerate a mask to wear one in multi-unit residential buildings and public places, such as restaurants, movie theaters, retail establishments, fitness clubs, and on public transportation.
“We are in a dangerous period, with the Delta variant surging, during which we must return to previous remediation measures,” said Dr. Rachel Rubin, co-lead and senior medical officer of Cook County Department of Public Health. “We have no choice but to mandate that people wear masks indoors to help contain this spread of the virus.”
According to the order, businesses will be required to post signage that states that masks are required.
CCDPH has created a sign that can be posted by employers, and it can be found on the CCDPH website.
“As the virus changes, we need to adapt our guidance and recommendations to keep residents safe,” said Dr. Kiran Joshi, co-lead and senior medical officer of Cook County Department of Public Health. “This variant is highly contagious and represents over 90 percent of our recent cases. We must act now.”
More information:
The full text of the order
