Chicago imposes an indoor mask mandate in hopes of reining in rising virus cases.

• Aug. 17, 2021Updated 5:46 p.m. ET

Chicago volition reimpose an indoor disguise mandate for each radical older than 2 opening connected Friday, an effort to dilatory the dispersed of the coronavirus arsenic lawsuit rates rise, the city’s commissioner of nationalist wellness said connected Tuesday.

Chicago, the nation’s 3rd largest city, joins a increasing database of metropolises similar Los Angeles County, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco that present necessitate masks successful nationalist indoor places. On Tuesday, the politician of New Mexico announced the authorities volition temporarily reimpose an indoor disguise mandate, arsenic good arsenic grow its vaccine mandate for each schoolhouse and infirmary employees.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention precocious updated its guidance to urge that everyone deterioration masks indoors successful areas with precocious lawsuit numbers, careless of their vaccination status.

A immense bulk of counties crossed the United States are experiencing either “substantial” oregon “high” transmission, according to the C.D.C., and Cook County, which includes Chicago, is nary exception.

Though cases person risen eightfold successful Cook County since aboriginal July, erstwhile less than 100 cases were being reported astir days, the outlook remains acold amended than successful overmuch of the remainder of the country. On a per-capita basis, Cook County is averaging less than fractional arsenic galore caller cases arsenic the state arsenic a whole. An mean of 17 cases per 100,000 residents are emerging each time successful Cook County, compared to 43 cases per 100,000 radical nationally and 138 cases per 100,000 radical successful Florida.

New York City, which began requiring impervious of astatine slightest 1 vaccine dose connected Tuesday to prosecute successful galore indoor activities, has not mandated masks indoors for vaccinated radical — lone recommended them. The politician has said the city’s absorption is connected vaccinating the top stock of its colonisation possible.

Dr. Allison Arwady, Chicago’s wellness commissioner, said astatine a quality league that she was watching however the vaccine requirements played out, but that the metropolis would person to beryllium astatine “much higher risk” earlier she would enactment 1 successful place. Masks are recommended successful immoderate counties successful Illinois and mandated successful each nationalist schools, and Chicago precocious introduced strict vaccine rules for teachers.

Chicago’s caller disguise mandate applies to each people, careless of their vaccination status, and covers each indoor nationalist settings, including bars and restaurants, clubs and communal areas of residential buildings, according to the city’s section of health. Masks are inactive required connected nationalist transportation, schools, wellness care, correctional and congregate surviving settings.

Masks are not required outdoors, though they are recommended for unvaccinated individuals successful crowded settings, and tin beryllium removed for eating and drinking, and for activities similar a facial oregon shave astatine a salon oregon barber shop. They are not required successful enactment places that are not unfastened to the public, if employees’s occupation bash not necessitate them to determination aroundand they tin support astatine slightest six feet of separation from others.

The city’s caller emergence successful cases did not look tied to immoderate ample events, similar Lollapalooza, a four-day euphony festival that drew hundreds of thousands of people earlier this month, Dr. Arwady said. The mandate was enactment successful spot due to the fact that the city’s regular mean of caller reported cases roseate to much than 400 a day, and it volition revert to a proposal erstwhile mean caller cases driblet beneath 400 for an extended period, she said.

“I don’t expect that this volition beryllium an indefinite, everlastingly disguise requirement,” Dr. Arwady said.

Requiring masks has go a hot-button governmental issue, and Republican governors similar Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas person forbidden section governments and schoolhouse districts successful their states from imposing disguise mandates.

That has not stopped districts successful those states from trying, and legal battles astir the requirements are inactive playing out.

New Mexico temporarily ordered masks to beryllium worn successful each nationalist indoor settings, careless of a person’s vaccination status, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced connected Tuesday.

According to a quality statement, Governor Grisham said the re-implementation of the indoor disguise mandate successful New Mexico was needed successful bid to curb the dispersed of the virus, which has been fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant. New Mexico required radical successful nationalist spaces deterioration a disguise starting connected May 16, 2020 and dropped it astir a twelvemonth aboriginal for radical who are afloat vaccinated, the Las Cruces Sun-News reported.

Governor Grisham announced a vaccine oregon trial mandate for workers astatine public, backstage and charter schools successful the state.

Mitch Smith and Azi Paybarah contributed reporting.