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As DuPage, McHenry reach 'substantial' risk level, mask alert called 'inevitable' in suburbs

Medical experts say it's only a matter of time before suburban COVID-19 transmission rises to the level at which face coverings are advised in all public indoor locations.

DuPage and McHenry counties joined Will County Wednesday with enough disease spread to trigger the universal indoor mask-wearing advice set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the day before. But it's “inevitable” that will happen in the rest of the suburbs and Chicago, one doctor says.

“It is absolutely inevitable that our cases are going to be high enough we'll all hit that metric pretty soon,” said Dr. Emily Landon, head of the University of Chicago's infectious disease prevention and control program. “But I don't think the Chicago area is going to see near the problem we're seeing in other states because the vaccination rate is pretty good here.”

DuPage, McHenry and Will counties are considered a “substantial” risk for contracting COVID-19, with more than 50 new cases of the disease diagnosed for every 100,000 people over the past week, according to CDC metrics. The other suburban counties and Chicago area are at a “moderate” risk.

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