Chicago dropping mask, vaccine proof mandates Feb. 28

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the city will end its mask mandate at the end of February, in line with the statewide date. The mandate requiring proof-of-vaccination will also end Feb. 28.

Chicagoans will not have to remained masked in most indoor settings or show vaccine cards come Feb 28, but masks will remain on students, mass transit riders and those in health care facilities.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Feb. 22 the mask mandate and proof-of-vaccination mandate at restaurants, bars and other indoor setting will be lifted at the end of the month. The decision mirrors Gov. J.B Pritzker’s announcement lifting the statewide indoor mask mandate on Feb. 28.

Lightfoot previously said the city might continue mandates even after the state mandates were lifted. On Feb. 22 she said individual businesses and venues can still require patrons to wear masks, and she will still wear hers.

“Folks, be kind and conscious of your fellow neighbors and any decisions they make for themselves to feel comfortable and protected,” Lightfoot said.

Dr. Alison Arwady, head of Chicago’s Public Health Department, said the decision came because three out of four COVID-19 metrics stayed below certain thresholds for at least two weeks. Those included cases, the positivity rate, and availability of hospital and ICU beds.

“The risk is down to a point where it is appropriate to lift,” Arwady said.

Lightfoot said mandates could make a return should numbers rise in the future, but for now the month will end with a greater sense of normal life for Chicagoans and other Illinoisans.