City of Chicago Business Affairs & Consumer Protection // Dec. 21, 2021
Today, Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection (BACP) announced
Patrons age 5 and older must show proof of full vaccination; patrons
The City of Chicago mask mandate also remains in effect for all public indoor settings. The new order does not affect this mask requirement. The order will remain in effect until the City of Chicago is through this Omicron-driven surge and the risk of overwhelming hospital capacity has passed.
Chicago was already experiencing a COVID-19 surge thanks to the Delta variant, and as the much more contagious Omicron variant has become dominant over the last week, that surge has dramatically worsened. The city is now averaging nearly 1,800 new COVID cases in Chicago residents every day, a 79% increase from one week ago. Chicago’s test positivity rate is now over 7%, up from 4.1% one week ago. More than 60 Chicagoans are being newly hospitalized with COVID each day and an average of 10 Chicagoans are dying from COVID each day. The large majority of Chicago’s COVID hospitalizations and deaths continue to be in people who are not vaccinated. All of these figures are the worst they have been since January 2021, before vaccines were widely available.
Effective Monday, January 3, 2022, the Chicago Vaccine Requirements will
- Indoor Dining: Establishments where food or beverages are served, including, but not limited to, restaurants, bars, fast food establishments, coffee shops, tasting rooms, cafeterias, food courts, dining areas of grocery stores, breweries, wineries, distilleries, banquet halls, and hotel ballrooms; and
- Indoor Fitness: Gyms and fitness venues, including, but not limited to, gyms, recreation facilities, fitness centers, yoga, Pilates, cycling, barre, and dance studios, hotel gyms, boxing and kickboxing gyms, fitness boot camps, and other facilities used for conducting indoor group fitness classes; and
- Indoor entertainment and recreation venues where food or beverages are served: Including, but not limited to, movie theaters, music and concert venues, live performance venues, adult entertainment venues, commercial event and party venues, sports arenas, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, card rooms, family entertainment centers, play areas, pool and billiard halls, and other recreational game centers.
The vaccine requirement does not include houses of worship; grocery stores (though indoor dining sections within grocery stores would be included); locations in O’Hare International Airport or Midway International Airport; locations in a residential or office building the use of which is limited to residents, owners, or tenants of that building; or food service establishments providing only charitable food services, such as soup kitchens. Schools and day cares also are not included in the order.
Proof of vaccination means a CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or an official immunization record from the jurisdiction, state, or country where the vaccine was administered or a digital or physical photo of such a card or record, reflecting the person’s name, vaccine brand, and date administered.
Establishments will be required to develop and keep a written record describing the protocol for implementing and enforcing the vaccine mandate. Also, establishments will be required to prominently post signage at each publicly accessible entrance to the covered location and at least one location inside the covered location that is conspicuously visible, informing patrons of the vaccination requirement.
The following individuals are exempted from this Order:
- Individuals entering an establishment for less than 10 minutes for ordering and carrying out food; delivering goods; or using the bathroom;
- A nonresident performing artist who does not regularly perform or render services in a covered location, or a nonresident individual accompanying such a performing artist, while the performing artist or individual is in a covered location for the purposes of such artist’s performance;
- A nonresident professional athlete or a nonresident individual accompanying such professional athlete, who enters a covered location as part of their regular employment for purposes of the professional athlete/sports team competition;
- Individuals who have previously received a medical or religious exemption (e.g. from an employer), provided such patrons show the establishment proof of the medical or religious exemption and a COVID-19 test administered by a medical professional within the last 72 hours prior to entering.
- An individual 18 years of age or younger who enters a covered location to participate in an activity organized by a school or after-school program offered by any pre-kindergarten through grade twelve public or non-public school; and
- An individual who enters for the purposes of voting in a municipal, state, or federal election; or, pursuant to law, assisting or accompanying a voter or observing such election.
We thank all the Chicagoans who have already made the choice to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to help protect themselves, their families, and Chicago.
For more information and guidance visit Chicago.gov/COVID.