CHICAGO — Just hours after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced new restrictions on businesses in response to rising COVID-19 cases, White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx cautioned that closing public spaces won't be enough to stop the illness's spread.
Birx said it's possible some of the recent spread is happening in people's homes, during family gatherings, as the weather gets colder. She spoke at a news conference following a private meeting with leaders from Rush University System for Health, Northwestern Medicine and the Illinois and Chicago departments of public health at Northwestern Memorial Hospital on Thursday.
"It won't be as simple as closing public spaces because public spaces ... were very safe over the summer and probably remain safe," Birx said. "This is really something that has happened in the last three to four weeks. What has happened in the last three to four weeks is that people have moved their social gatherings indoors."
On Thursday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a curfew for nonessential businesses and no more indoor service at bars that don't serve food. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has also announced tighter restrictions on bars, restaurants and gatherings in suburban counties with high COVID-19 positivity rates.
On Thursday the state announced 4,942 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, and the statewide rolling positivity rate stood at 5.7%, up from 3.7% two weeks earlier. In Illinois, 2,463 patients were in the hospital with COVID-19, according to Thursday figures, up from 1,812 two weeks earlier.
Birx also said Thursday that she advocated for weekly testing while meeting privately with hospital and public health leaders.
She said, at the news conference, that finding the "silent cases" and asymptomatic cases is "critical in preventing community spread."
She recommended asking certain community members — such as community college students, teachers or hospital workers — if they would be willing to be tested weekly. She said universities that have tested students weekly have had more success limiting infections than those that only tested students who had been directly exposed to COVID-19 or had symptoms.
Birx said testing, along with mask-wearing and social distancing, are key to getting the spread of COVID-19 under control.
When asked what she's doing to get President Donald Trump to understand the importance of social distancing and mask-wearing, she said: "My public health guidance is consistent no matter who I'm speaking to. I think you can see there's a diversity of how people relate to that message."
