Officials Say Lincoln Park Coronavirus Cases Are Once Again Spiking as Young People Are Traveling And Socializing

 Lincoln Park is experiencing another increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, with the rise continuing to be driven by young adults.

It is the second time during recent months that younger people - individuals 18-39 years - have been pointed out by health officials as being the main driver of surges in coronavirus cases in this North Side neighborhood.

City leaders stated over the summer that Lincoln Park was experiencing a surge in coronavirus due to young adults not wearing masks, packing in bars, and socializing. It appears that the area made some progress following that with a drop in new cases.

However, according to alderperson Michele Smith (43rd), the neighborhood is going backwards once again.

Last week the zip code 60614, encompassing Lincoln Park, experienced 101 confirmed coronavirus cases, which was a 34 percent increase over the previous week, according to data from the city health department. Around 8.15 percent of individuals who were tested in this zip code last week tested positive. During the previous week, only 6.27 percent of people tested positive.  

Smith says, our cases are going up at alarming rates, and in the neighborhood what I have seen that is many people have made the decision to not wear masks and return to life as usual.

DePaul University is located in Lincoln Park. Although there are strict limits to dorm access and a majority of in-classes have been put on hold, some students have come back.

Chicago's Department of Public Health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady says that many of the new cases in the Near North area are among 18-39-year-old individuals and that they are more likely to report being exposed to coronavirus by coworkers or friends than other infected Chicagoans.

Dr. Arwady adds that the hot spot in the Near North had many younger people, with that being less true in the Southwest and Northwest side hot spots.

Dr. Arwady reports that just 12 percent of people in the Near North area with a new COVID-19 case reported having recent contact with a member of their family who had coronavirus, while 30 percent stated they had been in contact with a friend who had coronavirus.  

In a broader sense, 75 percent of the area's newly sick individuals stated they were probably exposed to coronavirus by an individual outside of their household.

By contrast, on the city's Southwest and Northwest sides hot spots, almost 75 percent of individuals who tested positive for coronavirus stated that they were most likely exposed to the coronavirus by an individual inside of their household.

Dr. Arwady says that the more entrenched Southwest and Northwest sides hot spots have more essential workers along with more crowded housing with more individuals living together. Those types of structural factors can make it more difficult to control COVID in areas of the city where it has been more consistently seen.

Dr. Arwady added that travel potentially exacerbated the outbreak on the Near Noth Side. One-third of the newly infected individuals in the area have traveled outside of Illinois recently, compared to around 5-6 of individuals in the hot spots in the Southwest and Northwest.

Smith says her office has received complaints from neighbors about individuals returning from states on the growing Chicago quarantine list that fail to isolate for two weeks at home.

She adds, there is a great deal of non-compliance.

.