Heading to ‘high’ risk? City, county public health chiefs split in predictions for Chicago’s COVID-19 future

Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health Dr. Allison Arwady, left, in March; Dr. Rachel Rubin, senior medical officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health, right, in April. (Anthony Vazquez; Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file)

Despite a steady increase in COVID-19 cases and slower gains in hospitalizations, one of Cook County’s top public health officials said Wednesday it’s “unlikely” that the county will rise to the high risk level for coronavirus spread set by federal authorities.

That encouraging news from the county’s Dr. Rachel Rubin came one day after Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady predicted just the opposite, saying the county’s risk level could worsen “potentially even in the next few weeks.”